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THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 

LOS  ANGELES 


INIS-OWEN 


AND 


TIEGONNELL. 


MS-OWEN   AND  TIRCOMELL 

BEING  SOME  ACCOUNT 

OF 

ANTIQUITIES  AND  WRITERS 

OP  TflE 

COUNTY  OF  DONEGAL: 


BY 

WILLIAM  JAMES  DOHERTY, 

MK1IBER     EOTAL  IEI8H  ACADEMY;  MEMBER  INSTITUTION  CIVIL  ENGINEERS   (IRBLAKD) 
COKFOHATH   MEMBER  JSSIITUIION  CIVIL  EKOIMEEKS  (KKQLAND). 


SECOND    SERIES. 


DUBLIN : 
PATRICK  TRAYNOR,  29  &  30   ESSEX   QUAY. 

1895. 


UK  Righ 


PRINTED  BY  JOHK  F.   FOWLER,   3  CROW    ST  ,  DUBLIN. 


[This  edition  is  limited  to  500  copies. ] 


DA 


To  THE  MEMORY   OF  MY    DAUGHTER  ANNA  KATE, 
I  DEDICATE  THE  FOLLOWING  PAGES. 

WILLIAM  J.  DOHEKTY 


t-v 


715468 


x>u\ 


C&iflen  1nnp,  tocc  Stiibgi.     ( 
CASTLE  OF  THE  ISLE  [!NCH  CASTLE,]  LOCH  S WILLY. 


ST.  MURA'S  FAHAN, 

September  13th,  1894. 


P  RE  FACE. 


To  some,  the  dedication  prefixed  to  this  book  will  afford 
a  sufficient  indication  of  the  Author's  reasons  for  its  pub- 
lication. To  others,  it  may  not  appear  quite  so  intelligible, 
why  the  story  of  poet,  sage,  scholar,  and  writer,  belonging 
to  Inisowcn  and  Tirconnell,  who  by  their  work  have  en- 
riched  the  country  of  their  birth,  should  be  herein  condensed 
and  put  into  a  collected  form  ;  Avhen  the  details  of  the 
works  of  many  of  the  writers  mentioned,  have  been  better 
told  elsewhere.  The  Author  would,  however,  point  out 
that  to  many  readers  for  whom  this  book  is  intended,  more 
elaborate  works  OR  the  Writers  of  Donegal,  are  not 
generally  available.  And  though  the  summary  herein 
given  is  in  many  respects  imperfect,  yet,  the  compil- 
ation here  presented  may  contain  some  information,  which 
may  have  escaped  the  notice  of  better  qualified  writers. 
If  the  Author  has  been  able  to  gather  a  stray  head  of 
eram  from  the  gleaning,  which  might  otherwise  have  been 

o  o  *.  •  *  ™ 

forgotten,  and  so  place  it  within  the  reach  of  any  student  cf 
the  history  and  antiquities  of  his  native  county  —  leaving 
to  more  elegant  writers,  the  task  of  presenting  their  views 
in  an  attractive  and  polished  style,  —  his  aim  and  the  object 
of  his  labour?,  shall  have  been  accomplished. 


WILLIAM  JAMES  DOIIERTY. 


ST.  MURA'S  FAIIAX, 

September  loth,  1804. 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Pago. 
View— INCH  CASTLE  from  S.E.  (Lough  Swil!y),  original  sketch 

by  W.  J.  D.,  Xmas,  1338.  SUB-DEDICATION.  7 

ION  A  (As  it  appears  from  Staff  a),  original  sketch  by  W.  J.  D.,  1887.  1 7 
ecUlS-111on,  1O11A.  The  Great  Church,  IONA  (from  Pennant's 

Tour  in  Scotland,  1774).  31 

THE  BELL  OF  ST.  BOEDAN,  sketch  from  Bel),  by  W.J.D.,  1800.  38 
„  „  ,,  „  „  Drawn  from  Photograph,  By 

W.  F.  Wakeman,  180 1 .  3-JO 

THE  DONAGH  CROSS  (West  Face),  from  a  photo,  drawn  by 

W.  J.  D.  in  1800.  101 

V\VCA11  TniUlA  (Fahan  Mura),  original  sketch  by  W.  J.  D., 

Xmas,  1 888.  130 

THE  LONG  TOWER,  Deny,  from  Survey  of  Londonderry,  1811.  Hi 
THE  DONAGH  CKOSS  (East  Face),  drawn  from  a  photo  by 

W.  J.  D.,  1892.  If. 5 

TABLE  CROSS  OF  FAHAN-MURA,  drawn  for  the  Author  by 

W.  F.  Wakeman,  from  a  rubbing  made  by  W.  J.  D.,  18'jO.  221 

CAChACVl.  (Shrine  of  Battle  Standard  of  the  O'Donnells),  kindly 

drawn  for  the  Author  from  the  original  shrine  in  R.  I.  A.  by 

Geo.  Coffey,  M.R.I.A.,  1802.  292 

"  TOP  OF  THE  CAAH",from  Betham's  7mA  Antlq.  Researches  298 
irnoSACh,  from  Betham's  7mA  Antlq.  Researches.  305 

BELL  OF  ST.  MURA  (of  Fahan-Mura)  U.  J.  Arch.,  334-33ti 

BELL  OF  ceA11-11A-cUl$,  front  and  end  view,  drawn  from  the 

Bell  in  Museum  R.  I.  A.,  by  W.  J.  D.,  18S6.  .  338 

Inscription  on  the  "SANCTA  MARIA  BELL",  drawn  by 

W.  J.  D.,  from  a  rubbing  taken  off  the  bell  by  Mr.  Robert 

Moore,  Junr.,  of  Churchtown,  1890.  342 

THE  Sancfa  JVhuu  BELL,  C.irndonagh,  from  drawing  by  Mr. 

Hubert  Moore,  Junr.,  1 8 90.  343 

beAUriAU  C011A1U,.  (The_;  gapped  Bell  of  St.  Connell.)  The 

original  Bell  is  now  in  the  British  Museum.      Reduced  from 

printed  engravings  given  the  Author  by  Council  of  the  Royal 

Irish  Academy.  343 

t)CAH1lAn  COllAltt,  [Front  of  Bell,  with  covering  piece  of  early 

Irish  workmanship,]   reduced  from   Plate  III  of  engravings 

givui  by  It.  I.  A.  318 


ILLUSTRATIONS  (continued.) 

be  Aftn  All  COnAItt,  [Front  of  Shrine,]  reduced  from  Plato  V.  of 

engravings  belonging  to  R.  I.  A.  350 

beARtUMI    CO11A1U,,   [Back  of  Shrine.]  reduced  from  Plate  VI. 

R,  I.  A.  353 

beAHHAn   COnAlU,,    [End  of  Shrine.]  reduced  from  Plate  VII. 

R.  I.  A.  356 

be  ARn  All  con  A1  It,  [End  of  Shrine,]  frcm  Plate  VIII.  R.  I.  A.         358 
ST.  BOKDAX'S  BELL,  from  a  drawing  by  W.  F.  Wakemnn,  1891. 
DRUIDICAL  TEMPLE  NEAR  BOCAN,  from  original  drawing 

by  W.  J.  D.,  1890.  392 

THE  GOLAN  HILL,  FAHAN,  from  original  sketch  by  W.  J.  D. 

Xmas.  1888.  401 

THE  BACHULL-MURA.  (Crozier  of  St.  Mura?)  original 
drawing  made  for  the  Author  from  the  Crozier  in  Museum 
R.  I.  A.,  by  Henry  O'Neill,  1880.  402 

THE  ANCIENT   CROSS   OF   COOLEY  (Moville),   drawn   by 

W.  J.D.,  from  a  photo  taken  by  Hon.  Capt.  Cochranc,R.N.,  18'JO.      423 
CROSSES  AT   t>OU-COl1A1S   [Carrowmore],  drawn   from   the 

original  Crosses  by  W.  J.  D.,  1890.  42G-7 

CROSS  OF  ST.  BUADON  OF  cUlAin-CAChA  (Cloncn). 
drawn  for  the  R.  I.  A.,  by  W.  F.  Wakeman,  from  photo?,  to 
illustrate  paper  read  by  W.  J.  D.,  1391.  430 

AN  ANCIENT  MONUMENTAL  GRAVE-STONE,  Drawn  by 
Wakeman  to  illustrate  a  paper  read  at  R.I. A.  by  the  Author. 
The  Drawing  is  reduced  from  a  rubbing  taken  by  Moore  and 
O'Cannon  in  1890.  431 

EARLY  IRISH  ORNAMENTAL  WORK  ON  BACHULL- 
MURA,  from  original  drawing  for  the  Author  by  Henry 
O'Neill,  R,  IT.  A.,  1880.  452 

INCH  CASTLE  (Inis-Owen)  474 

CRUACH-AN-EUN  (Sketch  by  W.  J.  D.)  512 

CRUACH-AN-EUN  do.  513 

BEART  CASTLE  do.  529 

RUINS  OF  INCH  CASTLE  (Xmas,  1883,  by  W.  J.  D.)  529 

do.  530 

RUINS  OF  ELAGH-BEG  CASTLE  Cby  W.  J.  D.)  .r>50 

COLLEGIUM  1RLANDAIS  (Sketch  by  W.  J.  D  )  55 1 

FAC-SIMILE  OF  COLGAN'S  SIGNATURE  550 

ISLAND  OF  INCH,  from  St.  Mura's  (Sketch  by  W.  J.  D.,  1883)     445 
GREEK  CROSS  (from  Sketch  by  W.  J.  D.,  Nov.  10th,  1892.)  458 


INTRODUCTION. 


The  publication  of  the  following  pages,  inspired  by  the 
scenery,  antiquities,  and  history  of  my  native  county,  had 
in  part  its  origin  in  the  fulfilment  of  a  promise  made  by 
the  Author  to  deliver  a  lecture  to  the  young  men  of 
Carndonagh,  on  the  subject  of  "  John  Colgan,  the  learned 
Franciscan  Friar",  near  the  spot  where  he  was  born. 

A  short  notice  of  Colgan,  had  previously  appeared  aa 
an  appendix  to  a  reprint  of  a  paper  read  at  the  Koyal  Irish 
Academy.1 

Having  consented  to  deliver  the  lecture  the  Author's 
real  difficulty  only  commenced,  as  the  field  for  collecting 
materials  was  circumscribed,  so  much  so,  that  Moreri's 
Dictionary,  does  not  even  mention  Colgan's  name.  The 
same  may  be  said  of  several  other  biographical  works 
where  far  less  important  writers  receive  full  notice. 

The  Imperial  Dictionary  of  Universal  Biography?  con- 

1  Abbey  of  Fahan,  by  W.  J.  Doherty,  Proceedings  R.I.A.  2nd  Ser. 
Vol.  II.  (Polite  Literature  and  Antiq.~)  No.  3,  Deer.  1881 ;  Appendix, 
Traynor,  (Dublin,  1881)  p.  29  and  following. 

1  Impl.  Diet.  Universal  Biography,  London,  1865. 


2  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIECONNELL. 

tains  a  short  article  on  Colgan,  from  the  pen  of  John 
O'Dowd,  B.A.,  which  only  says  "  He  was  born  in  the  end 
of  the  16th  century"  and  tells  of  his  position  at  Louvain; 
that  "  he  executed  the  task  left  him  by  Ward  in  two  large 
volumes ;  which  are  illustrated  by  useful  and  most  elaborate 
notes,  especially  in  what  relates  to  the  ancient  topography 
of  Ireland".  The  Nouvelle  Biographie  Genfrale,1  appearing 
under  the  direction  of  Dr.  Hoefer,  has  no  notice  of  Colgan, 
whilst  it  devotes  no  less  than  four  pages  to  Toland : 
Vapereau's  Dictionaire  Universel  Des  Literatures,2  has 
nothing  about  Colgan,  whilst  it  notices  such  writers  as 
Nicholson,  Protestant  Bishop  of  Derry.  Another  edition 3 
by  the  same  author  of  Des  Contemporains,  professing  to  con- 
tainnotices  of  all  the  notable  persons  of  France,  and  Des  pays 
Etrangers,  is  silent  on  the  subject  of  Colgan,  so  also  is, 
the  Deutsche  Biographie.4'  The  Dictionary  of  English 
Literature,  only  gives  Colgan's  name,  the  date  of  his  death, 
and  the  short  title  of  his  two  first  published  works.5  The 
Biographical  Dictionary,  that  assumes  to  give  particular 
notices  of  distinguished  men  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland, 
only  says  of  Colgan.  "  He  had  a  good  acquaintance  with 
the  Irish  Language,  as  well  as  with  the  antiquities  of  his 
country,  died  1658.  He  published  the  lives  of  all  the  Irish 
saints  who  clied  during  first  three  months  of  the  year"  after 
giving  the  title  of  these  publications,  it  adds: — "  He  also 
left  some  pieces  in  MS.,  which  were  preserved  at 
Louvain".6 

Father    Luke    Wadding,    in    his    Scriptores    Ordinis 

1  Paris,  1886.    *  Paris,  1876.    3  Edition  1880.    «  187G. 
*  Diet.  Eng.  Lit,,  by  W.  Davenport  Adams,  London,  1877. 
G  London,  1883,  by  Thompson  Cooper,  F.S.A. 


INTRODUCTION.  o 

Minorum,  published  during  Colgan's  lifetime,  mentions 
liis  labours  with  great  respect.  -In  Harris's  translation  of 
Sir  James  Ware's  Writers  of  Ireland,  appears  a  fair  notice 
of  Colgan's  works  by  that  eminent  antiquarian,  who  says  : 
"  He  had  a  good  acquaintance  with  the  Irish  language  as  well 
as  with  the  antiquities  and  Church  history  of  his  country  ; 
so  that  he  was  well  qualified  for  collecting  and  writing  the 
lives  of  the  Irish  saints.  He  took  great  pains  on  this 
subject".1 

Mervyn  Archdall  in  his  Monasticon  Hibernicum,  whilst 
he  builds  his  structure,  received  from  perhaps  three  other 
previous  writers,  that  gives  proofs  of  the  identity  of  our 
ancient  abbeys  and  monasteries  from  "  facts",  as  he  says, 
"imperfectly  known  to  the  natives,  and  not  at  all  to 
foreigners",2  draws  largely  from  Colgan's  Acta  Sanctorum, 
and  Trias Thaumaturga,  though  he  was  a  "native". 

Brennan  renders  ample  tribute  to  Colgan,3  and  the  other 
Donegal  writers  of  his  time,  from  whom  it  is  almost 
impossible  that  the  name  of  Colgan  can  be  dissociated. 

He  gives  Ward  as  the  originator  of  the  projected  Acta, 
and  the  O'Clerys  as  collectors  and  contributors,  with 
Colgan,  as  compiler  and  director  of  the  work.  Colgan's 
rendering  into  imperishable  Latin  the  contents  of  the  Irish 
manuscripts  placed  within  his  reach  has  marked  more 
strongly  his  great  ability. 

Wills,  who  devotes  sixty  pages  to  illustrious  Usher,  was 
unable  to  afford  to  Colgan  more  than  half-a-dozen  lines — 

1  Ware's  Writers  of  Ireland,  Book  1,  p.  140,  Dublin,  1764. 
*  Mon.  Hib.,  p.  XI.,  London,  1786, 

5  Brennan's  Ecclesiastical  History,  p.  308  and  following,  Book  II. 
(1845.) 


4  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

"  John  Colgan,  born  A.D. ;  Died  A.D.  1658.  Colgan, 

was  a  Franciscan  in  the  Irish  Convent  of  St.  Anthony  of 
Padua,  in  Louvain,  where  he  was  professor  of  Divinity, 
he  collected  and  compiled  a  well-known  work  of  authority 
among  antiquarians,  and  of  considerable  use  in  some  of 
the  earlier  memoirs  of  this  work.  His  writings  were 
numerous,  and  all  we  believe  on  the  ecclesiastical  antiquities 
of  Ireland.  His  death,  in  1658,  prevented  the  publication 
of  many  of  them".1 

The  first  extended  and  discriminating  tribute  paid  to 
Colgan  was  that  rendered  by  Dr.  Reeves,  who  describes 
Colgan's  works  with  the  most  friendly  appreciation.  The 
tribute  is  so  much  the  more  valuable,  as  it  comes  from  the 
pen  of  one  who  has  since  risen  to  the  dignity  of  a 
Protestant  bishop,  and  who  as  an  Irish  archaeologist  has 
few  superiors.  Dr.  Reeves  speaks  of  Colgan's  graceful 
modesty  and  candour2  where  he  makes  enumeration  of 
the  services  rendered  by  his  valued  fellow-labourers,  parti- 
cularly Father  Ward : 

"  These  services  of  the  various  persons  who  aided  me  in 
the  furtherance  of  my  undertaking,  I  record  with  pleasure, 
as  well  that  each  may  receive  the  acknowledgment  and 
praise  which  his  pious  labours  deserve,  as  that  I  may  not 
appear  to  arrogate  to  myself  the  credit  which  is  due  to 
many,  in  an  undertaking  where  I  cannot  lay  claim  to  anything 
except  the  feeble  industry  which  I  owe  to  my  country,  or 
expend  anything  except  the  zeal  which  long  ago  I  pledged 

1  Lives  of  Illustrious  and  Distinguished  Irishmen,  by  James  Wills,  vol.  5 
pt.  1,  p.  28  (Dublin  1843). 

1  Irish  Library,  No.  1,  Ulster  Journal  of  Archeology,  p.  295  and  follow- 
ing (Belfast,  1853). 


INTRODUCTION.  5 

by  vow  to  the  one  God,  and  the  saints,  for  the  reward 
which  is  known  to  them.  Nor,  even  were  I  so  disposed, 
could  I  claim  much  credit  to  myself  in  this  matter,  for  as  I 
have  before  observed,  all  the  lives  of  the  saints  in  this 
and  the  following  volumes  [that  have  been  unfortunately 
lost]  except  a  few  which  have  been  translated  from  the 
Irish  and  other  languages,  and  some  more  that  were 
obtained  in  other  quarters,  are  set  out  nearly  entire  and 
complete  as  they  had  been  collected  and  put  together  by 
the  Rev.  Father  Hugh  Ward  ;  to  whom  the  others  above 
mentioned  supplied  the  records  which  were  calculated  to 
augment  or  improve  his  collection,  to  these  which  I  have 
furnished  with  chapters,  marginal  remarks,  notes,  and 
appendices,  I  have  added  nothing  but  some  shorter  lives 
gathered  out  of  the  same  or  other  documents,  which 
occurring  at  almost  every  day,  though  more  numerous,  are 
greatly  inferior  in  fulness  and  value  to  those  which  he  had 
collected,  for  which  reason  it  was  my  desire,  when  the 
task  of  enlarging  and  illustrating  the  work  was  committed 
to  me,  to  publish  the  whole  under  the  name  of  Father 
"Ward ;  under  which  it  was  partly  prepared,  and  would 
certainly  have  been  so  presented  to  the  public,  were  it  not 
that  my  superiors  and  friends,  influenced  by  the  numerical 
amount  of  my  gleanings,  and  other  motives  than  my 
wishes,  thought  otherwise". 

Colgan's  patriotism,  so  worthy  of  remembrance,  is  well 
expressed  when  he  says — "I  cannot  lay  claim  to  anything 
except  the  feeble  industry  which  I  owe  to  my  country", 
therefore  the  best  respect  we  can  offer  to  his  memory  is 
to  recognize  gratefully  his  indefatigable  labours.  To  his 
labours  we  arc  indebted  for  the  preservation  of  much 


6  INIS-OWEX  AND   TIRCONNEL. 

of  the  Irish  Ecclesiastical  History  we  possess.  Every 
author  of  importance  writing  on  the  subject  since  Colgan's 
time  quotes  him  as  an  authority  in  support  of  his 
statements.  Such  distinguished  writers  as  Dr.  Henthorn 
Todd,  tells  how  Colgan  first  published  the  alphabetical 
Hymn  of  St.  Sechnall,  where  he  says:  "It"  seems 
highly  probable  that  the  MS.  of  the  Liber  Hymnorum 
quoted  repeatedly  by  Colgan,  and  from  which  he  published 
the  Hymn  of  St.  Sechnall,  was  the  same  which  is  now 
preserved  in  the  Franciscan  College  of  St.  Isidore,  atEome 
[now  in  the  archives  of  the  Franciscan  Monastery,  Merchants' 
Quay.  Dublin.]  That  MS.  belonged  to  the  convent  of 
Donegal  with  which  Colgan  was  associated  ....  and  in 
company  with  other  MSS.  were  undoubtedly  in  Colgan's 
hands."  > 

It  will  be  seen  that  almost  every  treatise  on  Colgan  of 
necessity  fixes  attention  on  Donegal  and  its  writers,  who 
have  aided  in  conjunction  with  this  "learned  native  of 
Glen-tochair"  to  place  the  classic  figure  of  their  county  on 
the  superstructure  of  Irish  ecclesiastical  history,  literature, 
and  topography. 

The  place  .occupied  by  Donegal  in  early*  Christian 
civilization  has  been  unique,  we  find  her  present  from  the 
first,  sending  forth  apostles  of  religion,  recording  in  the 
pages  of  history  its  progress,  successes  and  vicissitudes, 
founding  schools  and  universities  abroad  to  impart 
knowledge,  and  extend  literature,  and  when  the  dark  wave  of 
a  returning  barbarism  had  almost  washed  down  the  beacons 
and  marks,  that  guided  the  Christian  philosopher  in  his 

1  The  Book  of  Hymns,  Part  I.  edited  by  J.  H.  Todd,  pp.  7,  8.    (Dublin, 

1855). 


INTRODUCTION.  ~ 

unerring  way,  the  children  of  Donegal  were  Found  rescuing 
from  the  inundations  many  treasured  relics  of  antiquity, 
thereby  contributing  towards  the  distinction  we  claim  as 
a  nation,  as  pioneers  in  the  cause  of  progress,  Christianity, 
and  civilization  throughout  Western  Europe. 

Eugene  O'Curry  has  nobly  vindicated  Colgan's  re- 
putation from  the  attempted  aspersions  of  some  of  his 
critics,  when  he  says, — "  In  fact  Colgan,  like  Keating, 
simply  undertook  to  publish  through  the  more  accessible 
medium  of  the  Latin  language  the  ancient  lives 
just  as  he  found  them  in  Gaedhlic,  and  it  would  be  more 
becoming  those  who  have  drawn  largely,  and  often  ex- 
clusively, on  the  writings  of  these  two  eminent  men,  and 
who  will  continue  to  draw  on  them,  to  endeavour  to 
•imitate  their  devoted  industry  and  scholarship,  than  to 
attempt  to  elevate  themselves  to  a  higher  position  of  literary 
fame  by  a  display  of  critical  pedantry,  and  what  they 
suppose  to  be  independence  of  opinion,  in  scoffing  at  the 
presumed  credulity  of  those  whose  labours  have  laid  in 
modern  times  the  very  ground-work  of  Irish  History."1 

0 'Donovan  styles  Colgan  "  the  most  remarkable  Milesian 
that  Ireland  ever  produced,"2  and  when  supporting  his 
derivation  of  Grianan,  says  it  simply  means  solarium  "  as 
invariably  rendered  by  the  erudite  and  honest  Colgan."3 

The  late  Rev.  C.  P.  Meehan  says  "  It  was  then  Colgan, 
Wadding,  Fleming,  Conry,  and  others  devoted  the  opulence 
of  their  learning  to  the  composition  of  works  which  were 

1  O'Curry's  MS.  Materials,  pp.  341-342  (Dublin,  1861). 
1  O'Donovan's  Ordinance  Survey  Letters,  K.I.A.,  County  Donegal,  (Aug. 
19th,  1835). 

3  O'Donovan's  Letter  to  O'Curry,  from  Dungiven,  Aug.  2nd,  1834. 


8  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

soon  to  spread  the  reputation  of  Irish  genius  over  Europe ; 
and  which  are  even  now  the  most  valuable  antiquarian  and 
theological  monuments  of  the  period."1 

Father  Meehan's  respect  for  Colgan's  memory  extended 
to  procuring  a  painting  copied  from  his  portrait  on  the 
walls  of  St.  Isidore,  at  Rome,  that  represents  Colgan 
seated  in  his  cell,  in  front  of  a  table,  surrounded  by  his 
books  and  manuscripts.  This  portrait  Father  Meehan 
presented  to  the  National  Gallery  of  Paintings  in  Dublin, 
where  it  can  be  seen  among  the  portraits  of  distinguished 
Irishmen. 

Canon  O'Hanlon  gives  an  accurate  and  appreciative 
account  of  Colgan's  labours  ;  no  one  could  be  better  quali- 
fied, he  being  himself  an  able  and  lifelong  labourer  in  the 
same  cause  of  Irish  hagiology  and  antiquities.3 

John  F.  Gilbert,  F.S.A.,  who  has  thrown  a  hitherto 
unknown  light  on  the  records  of  Irish  History,  particularly 
on  the  portion  that  refers  to  the  seventeenth  century  in  his 
works  History  of  the  Affairs  in  Ireland,  1641-52,"3  and  its 
companion,  History  of  the  Irish  Confederation  and  the  War  in 
Ireland",*  has  in  his  volume  descriptive  of  the  National 
Manuscripts  of  Ireland  (1884)  ;  put  into  concise  order  the  his- 
torical facts  relative  to  the  Donegal  writers  of  the  period  we 
are  treating  of.  Gilbert's  notice  of  the  Annals  of  the  Four 
Masters  is  too  extensive  for  insertion  here,5  but  we  shall  en- 
hance this  introduction  by  quoting  his  reference  to  Colgan. 

1  "Flight  of  the  Earls,"  by  Rev.  C.  P.  Meehan,  p.  345  (1870  Edition.) 

2  O'Hanlon's  Lives  oj  the  Irish  Saints",  vol.  1. 

3  Dublin,  1879,  etc. 

4  Dublin,  1882. 

5  Gilbert's  National  MSS.  of  Ireland,  pp.  311—315. 


INTRODUCTION. 

"  John  Colgan,  born  in  Donegal  in  1592,  became  a 
member  of  the  Irish  Franciscan  Community  at  their  Collegej 
at  Louvain.  To  him  was  entrusted  the  task  of  digesting, 
translating  into  Latin,  and  editing  the  manuscript  materials 
collected  through  the  exertions  of  the  Irish  Franciscans 
for  the  hagiography  and  history  of  their  country.  The 
first  published  result  of  Colgan's  labours  was  a  collection 
in  relation  to  the  Irish  saints  whose  festivals  occur  in  the 
months  of  January,  February,  and  March.  This  volume 
issued  at  Louvain  in  1645,  was  in  1647  succeeded  by 
another  of  similar  character,  connected  with  three  patron 
saints  of  Ireland,  Patrick,  Columba,  and  Brigid.  These 
volumes  have  always  held  a  high  place  in  connection  with 
the  early  history  of  Christianity  in  Europe,  as  well  as  with 
the  antiquities  and  literature  of  Ireland".  Colgan  was  also 
author  of  a  treatise  on  the  life  and  works  of  Duns  Scotus, 
published  at  Antwerp  in  1655,  and  in  which  he  maintained 
that  Ireland  was  the  native  land  of  the  famous  "  Subtle 
Doctor".  Colgan's  death  took  place  at  Louvain  in  1658. 

"  Amongst  his  unpublished  works  were  some  of  great 
importance  on  the  labours  of,  and  establishments  founded 
by  Irish  missionaries  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  Continent. 
From  the  few  leaves  which  now  survive  of  these  volumes, 
one  page  has  been  re-produced  on  the  present  plate.1  It 
contains  a  catalogue  of  portion  of  the  contents  of  the 
fourth  book  of  the  work  which  related  to  the  monasteries 
founded  or  administered  in  other  countries  by  early  Chris- 
tian missionaries  from  Ireland.  At  foot  of  the  page  has 
been  added  a  fac-simile  of  the  signature  of  Colgan".2 

1  Pee  fac-simile  plates  National  MSS.  by  Gilbert. 
•  National  MSS.  of  Ireland,  p.  315. 


10  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Gilbert  has  also  given  a  fac-simile  of  Colgan's  letter 
written  at  Louvain,  April,  1642,  addressed  to  Luke  Wad- 
ding, the  original  of  which  is  now  preserved  in  the  archives 
of  the  Franciscan  Order  in  Dublin.1 

Although  all  that  is  at  present  accessible  referring  to 
Colgan  has  been  collected  so  far  as  time  and  circumstances 
have  permitted ;  yet,  but  an  imperfect  summary  has  been 
obtained  ;  still,  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  this  compilation  may 
serve  to  foster  an  interest  among  more  youthful  students, 
and  lead  others  better  qualified  for  the  work  to  undertake 
a  closer  investigation.  Traditional,  historical,  and  anti- 
quarian relics,  are  abundantly  scattered  throughout  each  of 
the  ancient  divisions  of  Donegal,  and  it  only  requires 
skilled  and  willing  gleaners  to  gather  in  the  rich 
harvest. 

The  object  aimed  at  by  the  compilation  of  this  collection, 
has  been  to  present  an  outline  of  the  field  wherein  students 
may  obtain  by  greater  research,  more  definite  information- 
Should  it  serve  to  assist  them  to  examine  the  way  over 
which  many  of  the  illustrious  writers  of  Tirconnell  and 
Inis-Owen  have  journeyed,  it  will  have  accomplished  all 
for  which  it  is  intended. 

The  original  scope — a  popular  account  and  homely 
rendering  of  John  Colgan's  place  as  awriter  and  scholar  of  the 
seventeenth  century — has  been  extended.  Other  prominent 
writers  of  Donegal  are  noticed,  who,  in  ancient  and  modern 
times,  by  their  genius  and  learning,  at  home  and  abroad — 
have  upheld  the  name,  and  extended  the  fame  of  the  Irish 
race. 

1  Gilbert's  Hist.  Affairs  in  Ireland,  vol.  1,  part  2,  page  407. 


INTRODUCTION.  11 

No  person  can  be  more  impressed  than  the  writer  with 
the  defects  and  omissions  that  abound  in  these  pages. 
Even  their  imperfections  would  have  been  more  numerous 
had  it  not  been  for  the  generous  aid  rendered  by  several 
friends. 

Among  those  to  whom  thanks  are  eminently  due,  and 
are  tendered  :  the  Author  is  indebted  to  John  F.  Gilbert, 
F.S.  A.,  Librarian  of  the  Koyal  Irish  Academy ;  the  Author 
is  specially  indebted  to  George  Sigerson,  M.D.,  F.R.U.I., 
etc.,  he  supplied  many  notes  and  gave  much  useful  inform- 
ation, which  was  always  of  a  reliable  kind.  Father  Hill, 
O.S.F.,  placed  at  his  disposal  the  Library  of  the  Francis- 
can Convent,  Dublin,  where  the  Irish  Records,  books, 
manuscripts,  formerly  in  the  College  of  St.  Isidore,  at  Rome, 
are  now  preserved.  The  Rev.  Philip  O'Doherty,  has  been 
untiring  in  unearthing  and  furnishing  much  local  informa- 
tion connected  with  the  birthplace  of  Toland,  Macklin, 
and  Colgan.  Rev.  J.  C.  Cannon,  and  Rev.  P.  F.  Brennan 
also  gave  a  list  of  names  and  particulars  of  authors  that 
might  otherwise  have  escaped  the  Author's  observation. 

To  the  Director  of  the  University  of  Louvain,  M.  Adolph 
Tielemans  ;  the  Conservator  of  the  Burgundian  Library, 
Brussels,  M.  Tetis,  and  Frere  Didace,  of  the  Order  of 
Charity  (that  now  occupies  the  buildings  at  Louvain  for- 
merly the  College  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua)  the  Author 
is  indebted  for  many  extracts  made  from  works  under  their 
care. 

A  work  in  the  French  language  by  M.  Van  Buck  (one 
of  the  Bollandists)  has  been  availed  of  for  many  passages 

relating  to  Colgan  and  Louvain.1 

o  o 

fieliyieiises  Historiques  et  LiUcrcdres,  Paris,  1869. 


12  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Many  particulars  connected  with  the  writings  of  Isaac 
Butt  have  been  obtained  from  Mr.  James  Collins  of  Drum- 
condra,  who  for  years  performed  the  duties  of  amanuensis, 
and  enjoyed  Isaac  Butt's  friendship. 

Extracts  from  Latin  originals  that  now  appear  for  the 
first  time  in  English,  have  been  rendered  by  the  Author's 
son,  Patrick  Edward  Doherty,  B.L. 


INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL 


i. 

GARTAN. 

Within  a  century  after  the  death  of  St.  Columbkille, 
(which  occurred  on  the  9th  June,  A.D.  597.)  St.  Adam- 
nan,  or  St.  Eunan,  a  native  of  Donegal,  patron  of  the 
diocese  of  Raphoe,  wrote  the  life  of  St.  Columba.1  This 
memoir  has  not  only  immortalized  the  writer  but  it  has 
furnished  the  text  for  one  of  the  volumes  of  a  distinguished 
Irish  Archaeologist,  i.e. — Dr.  Reeves,  Protestant  Bishop  of 
Down,3  as  well  as  for  Montalembert's  St.  Columba.3 

St.  Columbkille  was  born  at  Gartan,  in  the  territory  of 
Tirconnell,  near  the  base  of  the  Glendowan  mountains.4 

Manus  O'Donnell  chief  of  Tir-Connell,  who  died  in  1532, 
has  furnished  the  fullest  collection  of  the  acts  of  St. 
Columba,  the  patron  saint  of  Tir-Connell. 

Dr.  Henthorn  Todd  and  Eugene  O'Curry  made  a  visit 
to  the  Bodleian  Library,  Oxford,  in  July,  1849.  From 
O'Curry's  inspection  it  is  placed  beyond  dispute  that  there 
the  original  of  O'Donnell's  life  of  St.  Columbkille  is  pre- 
served. The  manuscript  it  would  appear  became  by  some 
means  the  property  of  Sir  James  Ware,  then  afterwards 
that  of  the  Duke  of  Chandos,  at  the  sale  of  whose  library 

1  Vita  Sancti,  Columbce,  auctore  Adamnano. 

2  Life  of  St.  Columba,  by  Rev.  W.  Reeves,  I.  A.  Society,  Dublin,  1857. 

3  Monks  of  the  West,  vol.  2. 

4  A  posthumous  English  translation  of  Adamnan's  Life  oj  St.  Columba, 
by   Dr.   McCarthy,   Bishop  of  Kerry,  has  been   published  by   Duffy, 
Dublin,  (1889.) 


14  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIKCONNELL. 

by  auction,  commencing  March  12th,  1766-7,  the  work 
was  purchased  by  Mr.  Kawlinson.  Manus  O'Donnell  records 
how  it  was  he  who  had  ordered  the  part  of  this  life  which  was 
in  Latin,  to  be  put  into  Gaelic,  and  who  ordered  the  part  that 
was  difficult  (i.e.  very  ancient  Irish,)  to  be  modified,  and 
who  gathered  and  put  together  the  parts  scattered  thrQugh 
the  old  books  of  Erin,  and  who  dictated  it  out  of  his  own 
mouth  with  great  labour  and  a  great  expenditure  of  time  in 
studying  and  arranging  all  its  parts,  as  they  are  left  here 
in  writing  by  us,  in  love  and  friendship  for  his  illustrious 
Saint,  Relative  and  Patron,  to  whom  he  was  devoutly  at- 
tached". At  the  sale  this  work  was  disposed  of  for  twenty- 
three  shillings  ! — Happily  it  has  been  preserved.  It  was  writ- 
ten— "A  cAiflen  phtnjAC-riA-qu  tiAitiAC,  i.e.  at  the  Castle 
of  the  Port  of  the  three  enemies",  now  called  Lifford.1 

In  this  work  Manus  O'Donnell  describes  the  territory  ot 
of  Gartan. — "  That  land,  Gartan,  which  lies  in  the  County 
of  Tir-Connell  is  desolate,  even  to  the  appearance  of  a 
wilderness,  on  account  of  the  very  lofty  mountains  which 
take  up  its  whole  extent  to  the  north,  but  a  declivity  which 
is  adjacent  to  the  more  cultivated  plains  and  exposed  to 
the  rays  of  the  sun,  and  lakes  situate  at  the  foot  thereof, 
render  it  most  delightful  in  the  Summer  season". 
LOUGH  BEAGH 

St.  Columbcille  was  born  on  the  7th  December,  A.D. 
519  (as  Colgan,  has  the  date),  O'Donnell  gives  520,  and 
Reeves  gives  521,  as  that  most  likely  to  be  the  true 
period  ; 2  he  was  forty-two  years  of  age  when  he  removed 
to  lona;  his  death  occurring  there  thirty-four  years  later. 

1  Proceedings  R.  I.  A.,  vol.  v.  p.  102.    Irish  Manuscripts  in  Bodleian 
Library,  Oxford,  Dublin  1851. 

2  Reeves'  St.  Columba,  p.  Ixix,  notes,  ].  and  m. 


GARTAN.  15 

Around  Gartan  as  the  birth-place  of  St.  Columbcille, 
shall  always  be  centered  a  portion  of  the  interest  and 
veneration  that  is  attached  to  his  name. 

The  parish  of  Gartan  extends  north  to  Calabbar  Bridge, 
where  the  road  to  Dunlewy  branches  off.  Its  western 
boundary  skirts  west  of  the  Dooish  mountain,  as  it  rises 
1994  feet  over  the  waters  of  Lough  Glen- Veagh.  Through 
a  chasm  formed  by  some  mighty  convulsion,  the  Lough 
extends  for  a  distance  of  about  three  and  a-half  miles  in 
length,  by  an  average  of  about  four  hundred  and  fifty 
yards  in  breadth.  Here  is  '  Lone  Glenveagh". — The 
weird  beauty  of  the  place  must  be  seen,  it  cannot  be  pain- 
ted or  sufficiently  described. 

"  If  your  fancy  be  a  glowing  one,  put  it  to  its  most  fer- 
vent test  in  picturing  the  wildest,  sweetest,  weirdest,  and 
most  gloriously  beautiful  spot  within  its  power  of  creation, 
and  you  have  not  then  got  a  glimpse  of  the  magical  fascin- 
ations of  Glen  Veagh".  After  describing  its  varied 
beauties  in  every  line  of  which  the  words  appear  in  the 
natural  groupings  of  an  inspired  poet — Wakeman  thus 
apostrophizes  it — "  Grand  Glen  Veagh !  Noblest  of  all 
Erin's  wondrous  valleys,  because  grandest  fashioned  by 
the  Infinite  Artificer,  and  as  yet  unsrnirched  by  the 
defiling  hand  of  gain".1  Such  is  the  northern  fore- 
ground of  what  O'Donovan  calls  "  the  very  wild  parish  of 
Gartan".  As  we  proceed  south,  its  eastern  confine  passes 
through  the  centre  of  Lough  Kibbon,  (a  corruption  of  its 
Irish  name  Loch-mhic-Ciabain^)  we  reach  Gartan  Loch, 
or  Lough  Beagh,  sheltering  amidst  the  more  "cultivated 

1  Edgar  L.  Wakcman's  Afoot  in  Ireland,  Chicago,  1888. 


16  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

plains",  mentioned  in  1532  by  Manus  O'Donnell.  This 
Lough  extends  in  a  south-westerly  direction  about  two 
and  a-half  miles,  with  a  more  sinuous  foreground,  and  is 
from  a  quarter  to  half  a  mile  in  width.  Here  on  its  banks 
St.  Columbcille  was  born.1 

The  lines  of  St.  Mura  of  Fahan  cited  by  O'Donnell  and 
the  O'Clery's  are  : — "  He  was  born  at  Gartan  by  his  con- 
sent ;  And  he  was  nursed  at  Cill-mic  Neoin?  and  the  son 
of  goodness  was  baptized3  at  Tulacli  Dubhglaise  of  God".4 

Dr.  Reeves  observes  that  the  local  traditions  decidedly 
confirm  this  Irish  account.5  The  writer,  several  years  ago 
traversed  every  spot  of  this  district,  and  stood  on  the  flag- 
stone pointed  out  by  the  people  as  St.  Columbkilles  Stone, 
that  marks  the  place  where  it  is  traditionally  stated  he  was 
born.  This  stone  is  to  be  seen  to  the  S.W.,  in  the  town- 
land  of  Lacoo. 

O'Donovan  confirms  that  the  traditions  were  faithfully 
retained  as  to  the  birth-place  of  Columbkille,  and  the  stone 
was  pointed  out  at  the  time  of  his  visit.6  There  is  a  dis- 
jointed tradition  about  a  hound  connected  with  the  flag- 
stone which  would  require  more  time  to  collect  and  place  in 
order  of  narration  than  were  at  our  disposal. 

The  stone  is  about  eighteen  feet  in  circumference,  and  is 
indented  with  about  sixty  holes  of  average  depth  of  two  and- 
a-half  inches.  The  flagstone  itself  is  about  six  inches  thick. 

1  O'Donovan's  Ordnance  Survey  Letters  Donegal,  1835. 

2  Kilmacrenan  (Ci1t-triAC-tteii4in.) 
8  Colgan's    Trias  Thaum.  p.  393.  a. 

4  Tulach-Dulhglaise  is   now  Temple-Douglas,  where  the  ruins  of  a 
graveyard  and  site  of  a  church  stood. 

5  Beeves'  St.  Columba,  p.  Ixviii. 

';  O'Donovan's  Ordnance  Survey  Letters,  Donegal,  1835. 


ti  appears  from  Staffa.} 


II. 

IONA. 

Looking  back  into  the  obscurity  of  the  past,  specks  of 
light  appear  studded  over  the  darkness  shining  like  stars 
on  the  darkest  night.  Among  the  clearest  were  the  lamps 
of  knowledge,  lit  up  and  maintained  by  the  genius  and 
sanctity  of  our  Donegal  kinsmen. 

In  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century,  Tirconnell  sent 
forth  a  noble  representative,  in  the  person  of  Columba — 
who  is  locally  better  known  as  St.  Columbkille,  i.e.,  "  Dove 
of  the  Churches ".  Alter  founding  the  Monastery  of 
"Derry-Columbkille",1  he  carried  amongst  the  ancient 
Briton  and  the  Pict,  the  faith  taught  by  our  National 
Apostle. 

1  The  modernized  Londonderry. 


18  .        INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

The  fame  of  lona  soon  spread  a  ray  of  light  over  both 
sea  and  land,  until  it  became  the  beacon  that  guided  the 
pilgrim  to  its  sanctified  retreat.  And  for  centuries  it 
remained  selected  as  the  resting  place  for  the  ashes  of  all 
who  were  celebrated,  throughout  Pictland  and  Scotland. 

A  short  description  of  lona,  derived  from  authentic 
sources  and  from  personal  observation,  may  interest  some 
who  may  not  have  had  an  opportunity  of  examining  this 
historical  island. 

Hy,  I,  Columbkille,  or  loNA,1  is  a  comparatively  small 
island  lying  off  the  greater  island  of  Mull,  on  the  Western 
Coast  of  Scotland,  in  latitude  56°  40"  (north),  and  longi- 
tude 6°  45"  (west).  Its  position  in  reference  to  Ireland, 
is  to  be  found  in  a  line  produced  slighly  east  by  north ; 
from  Malinhead  in  Inis-owen,  till  it  reaches  Skerryvore 
Light  House,  as  it  stands  isolated  in  the  Atlantic,  and 
distant  from  Malin  Head  about  sixty-five  miles ;  thence  at 
right-angles  from  Skerryvore,  or  about  twenty-five  miles 
due  east  lies  the  Island  of  St.  Columbkille. 

lona  extends  in  length,  from  N.E.  to  S.W.  about  three 
miles,  and  from  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  at  its  northern 
end  it  broadens  out  to  the  westward  to  one  and  a  half  miles. 
At  a  point  about  one  mile  from  its  northern  end  it  returns 
to  a  width  of  about  one  mile,  which  it  maintains  through- 
out to  its  southern  extremity. 

Its   western  coast  line  is  irregular  in  outline ;    where, 

1  Reeves  says  :— The  word  (lona)  as  it  stands  in  Adamnan  is  an  adjec- 
tive, was  suggested  by  Colgan — although,  from  a  faulty  transcript  of  a 
MS.  of  eighth  century  now  in  the  public  library  of  Schaffhausen,  he  was 
led  into  the  error  of  supposing  lona  to  be  its  correct  form  instead  of 
Jott'i — Reeves'  St.  Columba,  p.  Ii5 


IONA.  19 

from  its  exposure  to  the  continual  wash  of  the  Atlantic, 
several  slight  embayments,  called  ports,  have  been  formed. 
The  native  population  (now  about  two  hundred)  speak  the 
Gaelic  language  ;  and  give  each  port,  rock,  or  knoll,  on 
the  island  its  distinctive  name,  derived  in  many  instances 
from  the  traditions  associated  with  St.  Columbkille  or  some 
of  his  disciples.  The  ports,  or  landing  places,  are  named 
Port-Ban,  the  white  Port ;  Port-nacloch  geal,  Port  of  the 
bright  stones  ;  Port  beul  moir,  Port  of  the  large  mouth. 

The  eastern  coast  line,  from  its  more  sheltered  position, 
is  not  so  irregular,  between  which  and  the  low  lying  pro- 
montory of  the  Ross  of  Mull  passes  the  channel,  about  one 
mile  in  width,  named  by  Adamnan  in  his  Life  of  St. 
Columba,  "ultra  Fretum  clamatum",1  and  now  called  the 
Sound  of  lona. 

About  halfway  on  the  eastern  shore  occurs  the  present 
principal  landing  place,  near  Port  Ronain,  named  after  St. 
Ronan,  the  Ronan  Fionn  of  22nd  May  in  the  Irish  Calendar, 
of  Lann  Ronain  Finn,  in  Iveagh  in  Ulster.2 

Here,  at  a  rude  inclined  slipway  of  a  form  almost  as  pri- 
mitive as  it  existed  in  the  days  of  St.  Columbkille,  pilgrims 
and  passengers  are  landed.  Advantage  has  been  taken,  to 
utilize  the  original  trap  rock  of  which  the  landing  slip  is 
formed,  by  smoothing  its  rugged  inequalities,  into  some- 
thing approaching  an  even  surface,  and  filling  up  the  gaps 
with  irregular  stones  set  in  cement-mortar  so  as  to  form  a 
permanent  face  work.  Here  the  boats  that  attend  on  the 
well-managed  steamers,  that  sail  daily  from  Oban  during 
the  season,  land  and  embark  their  passengers. 

1  Lib.  i.,  cap.  43. 

-  Martyrologij  of  Donegal,  LA,  and  C.S.,  1864,  p.  137. 


20  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

PHYSICAL  APPEARANCE. 

Approaching  the  island  from  the  south-east,  and  on 
rounding  the  western  point  of  the  Ross  of  Mull,  one 
wonders  how  ever  the  captain  of  the  Grenadier  pilots 
the  steamer  in  safety  through  the  numerous  islets  and 
sunken  reefs  that  are  scattered  here  in  profusion.  lona 
appears  suddenly  in  view !  It  presents  at  first  sight 
the  appearance  of  a  low-lying,  weather-beaten  island. 
Proceeding  up  the  Fretum,  or  Sound,  patches  of  cultivation, 
interspersed  with  pasturage,  are  seen  among  the  cnocans, 
and  the  escarpments  of  the  druims  that  form  the  rugged 
outline  of  the  island.  None  of  the  hills  is  lofty  enough 
to  be  styled  a  Sliav ;  the  highest  on  the  island,  the  eminus 
supereminet  of  Adamnan,  is  called  Dunii,  the  summit  of 
which  is  stated  to  be  330  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 
Dunii  is  a  conspicuous  object,  and  lies  N.W.  of  the  landing 
slip,  about  half  a  mile  distant,  rising  above  the  slightly 
sloping  plateau  that  runs  north  of  the  slip,  and  along  the 
eastern  shore.  Here  over  this  plane  are  scattered  the  chief 
ecclesiastical  ruins,  as  well  as  the  chief  religs,  or 
cemeteries,  that  are  found  on  the  island. 

RUINS. 

Leaving  the  slip,  and  advancing  by  the  principal  road 
in  a  N.E.  direction,  within  an  area  of  about  half  a  mile 
in  length  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile  in  width,  are  to  be  seen 
the  remains  of  the  convents  and  churches. 

Near  the  modern  village,  are  the  ruins  of  the  Nunnery 
and  the  Tempul  Ronain.  The  cross  of  St.  Adamnan,  or 
St.  Eunan  of  Raphoe,  formerly  stood  at  the  N.E.  end  of 


IONA.  21 

the  village  over  the  port  or  landing  place,  to  which  it  gave 
the  name  POJAC  A  qioif  e<Mi,  or  the  Port  of  the  smaller  cross. 

DESTRUCTION    OF   THE   CROSSES. 

This  Cross  of  Adamnan  has  disappeared,  and  may  have 
been  one  of  the  many  crosses  destroyed  or  thrown  into 
the  sea,  by  order  of  a  synod,  or  provincial  assembly — as  is 
recorded  in  the  (New)  Statistical  Account  of  Scotland,  on  the 
authority  of  a  writer  giving  a  short  description  of  lona  in 
1693. — "  In  this  ile  was  a  great  many  crosses,  to  the 
number  of  360  which  was  all  destroyed  by  one  provinciall 
assembly,  holdeii  on  the  place  a  little  after  the  Reformation. 
Their  foundations  is  yett  extant ;  and  two  notable  ons  of 
a  considerable  height  and  excellent  work  untouched". 

Sacheverell,  governor  of  the  Isle  of  Man,  who  visited 
lona  in  1688,  says  : — "  The  synod  ordered  60  crosses  to 
be  thrown  into  the  sea". 

Thomas  Pennant,  who  visited  lona  in  1772,  says  : — "On 
this  road  is  a  large  and  elegant  cross,  called  that  of  Macleane, 
one  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  that  were  standing  in  this 
island  at  the  Reformation  (Short  Description  of  lona  1693, 
Advoc.  Lib.  MS.)but  immediately  after  were  almost  entirely 
demolished  by  order  of  a  provincial  assembly,  held  in  the 
island".1  Pennant  does  not  consider  the  numbers  were  out 
of  proportion  to  the  ten  centuries,  during  which  the  island 
had  been  held  in  such  veneration,  for  he  adds — "  It  seems 
to  have  been  customary  in  Scotland  for  individuals  to  erect 
crosses,  probably  in  consequence  of  some  vow,  or  perhaps 
out  of  a  vain  hope  of  perpetuating  their  memory." 

1  Pennant's  Voyage  to  the  Hebrides,  vol.  2,  p.  241  and  following  (Ches- 
ter, 1773). 


22  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

This  question  of  the  "  Destruction  of  the  Crosses",  would 
appear  to  have  become  a  tender  subject  for  some  writers, 
of  distinction  who  have  described  lona.  Dr.  Reeves  says1  — 
"Their  number  was  great  indeed  if  the  anonymous  writer  of 
1693  be  deserving  of  credit",  andproceeds  after  quoting  New 
Stat.  Acct.vii.  pt.  2,  p.  314  which  gives  the  number  destroyed 
to  be  360 — "  Sacheverell",  as  cited  by  Pennant  states 
that  "the  synod  ordered  60  crosses  to  be  thrown  into  the 
sea",  but  Pennant,  in  speaking  of  the  CtocA  b^ec<x  (or 
speckled>tones),  says — "  Originally"  (says  Mr.  Sacheverell) 
"  here  were  three  noble  globes,  of  white  marble,  placed  on 
three  stone  basons,  and  these  were  turned  round,  but  the 
Synod  ordered  them  and  60  crosses  to  be  thrown  into  the 
Sea".*  Dr.  Reeves  continues  —  "It  is  alleged  that  multi- 
tudes of  them  were  carried  away  to  different  parts  of 
Western  Scotland,  and  among  them  the  two  beautiful 
crosses  of  Inverary  and  Campbelton.  This  is  all  very 
irrational,  it  only  wants  a  5  instead  of  the  cypher,  in  the 
total  360,  to  complete  its  absurdity.  There  probably 
never  were  more  than  two  dozen  real  crosses  standing  at 
anyone  time,  and  if  every  tombstone  in  the  cemeteries 
which  ever  had  a  cross  of  any  form  inscribed  on  it  were 
included,  the  number  360  would  not  be  arrived  at",  then 
Dr.  Reeves  asks — "  If  some  were  thrown  into  the  sea,  why 
any  left  standing  ?  "  and  winds  up  by  quoting  from  Mr. 
David  Laing's  Letter  to  Lord  Murray  (1854,  p.  12),  wherein 
that  writer  states  his  belief  that  as  to  360  stone  crosses  having 
existed  in  the  island,  this  should  be  considered  as  very 

1  Kocves'  St.  ColunAa,  pp.  419-420. 
Tcnnan     Voy.  Hebrides",  vol.  2,  p.  251. 


IONA.  23 

apocryphal,  and  their  alleged  destruction  by  the  Reformers 

as,  at  best,  a  vague  tradition".1 

Dr.  Johnson,  in  1773,  says — "  The  place  is  said  to  be 
known  where  the  black  stones  (CtocliA  bftecA)2  lie  con- 
cealed, on  which  the  old  Highland  chiefs,  when  they  made 
contracts  and  alliances,  used  to  take  the  oath  which  was 
considered  as  more  sacred  than  any  other  obligation,  and 
which  could  not  be  violated  without  the  blackest  infamy. 
In  those  days  of  violent  rapine  it  was  of  great  importance 
to  impress  upon  savage  minds  the  sanctity  of  an  oath,  by 
some  particular  and  extraordinary  circumstances.  They 
would  not  have  recourse  to  the  black  stones,  upon  small 
or  common  occasions,  and  when  they  had  established  their 
faith  by  this  tremendous  sanction,  inconstancy  and 
treachery  were  no  longer  feared'"'  .3 

Henry  Davenport  Graham4  published  a  series  of  52 
plates  with  letter-press  description,  which  was  seen  by 
Dr.  Reeves — since  he  quotes  from  it  the  particulars  of  St. 
Martins  cross,  which  Dr.  Reeves  calls  a  noble  monument, 
opposite  the  west  door  of  the  cathedral,  "  fourteen  feet 
high".  The  next  cross  in  Graham's  collection  "  St.  John's 
cross",  is  also  mentioned  by  Dr.  Reeves.  Graham  describes 
as  having  been  similar  to  "St.  Martin's  cross",  "  but  of 
which  only  a  portion  remains",  Graham  adds  however — 
"  It  must  have  been  knocked  down  by  a  most  violent  blow, 
for  it  is  broken  short  off  at  the  base". 

From  whence  came  the  violent  blow?  Laing  might  reply  : 

1  Beeves'  St.  Columba,  addition  notes— pp.  419,  420. 

*  Speckled  stones. 

3  Johnson's  Western  Highlands  of  Scotland,  p  244  (Dublin,  1775,. 

1  Graham's  Antiquities  oflona,  London,  1850. 


24  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

"a  vague  tradition!"  and  be  afterwards  quoted  as  an 
authority.1 

Pennant  did  not  doubt  the  account  he  has  left  on  record 
of  the  360;  and  Sacheverell  may  have  left  out  the  3  in 
his  account;  violence  was  used  as  shown  by  Graham. 
The  Eev.  J.  S.  F.  Gordon,  D.D.,  says — "  Like  the  tomb- 
stones the  crosses  consisted  of  a  single  slab  of  mica  slate, 
a  stubborn  subject  for  a  chisel,  albeit  the  sculpture  was 
elaborate  in  intricate  tracery.  Not  very  long  ago  when 
any  one  from  the  adjacent  islands  desired  a  tombstone, 
they  conveniently  helped  themselves  at  lona — Con- 
sequently humble  cottars  in  Mull  and  Lorn  sleep  uncon- 
sciously imder  a  monument  carved  for  an  ecclesiastic  or  a 
chieftain.  The  same  handy  arrangement  holds  good  in 
lona  itself — '  Calvinian  heretics ',  reposing  under  borrowed 
flags  of  accommodation".3 

Is  it  probable  that  during  ten  centuries,  "  when  it  was 
customary  either  from  a  vow  or  in  the  vain  hope  of  per- 
petuating their  memory  " — "  to  erect  crosses  in  Scotland", 
as  Pennant  affirms — not  three  individuals,  "  ecclesiastic  or 
chieftain" — were  yearly  interred  in  lona,  over  whom  it 
would  be  considered  a  token  of  Christian  respect  to  inscribe 
on  their  monumental  slab  "across  of  any  form?"  "St. 
Matthew's  cross"  —  is  a  fragment.  "  St.  Adamnan's  cross"  — 
has  disappeared.  "St.  Brandon's  cross" — no  trace  remain- 

1  The  Lords  Justices,  September  13th,  1632,  issued  an  order  with  the 
advice  of  the  Privy  Council,  to  break  down,  deface,  and  demolish  any 
Convent  at  Lough  Derg,  County  Donegal,  and  this  order  not  being  suffi- 
ciently attended  to,  an  act  of  Parliament  was  passed  in  2nd  year  reign  of 
Queen  Anne  (1703),  against  Pilgrimages  in  general;  Richardson's  Folly 
of  Pilgrimages,  pp.  44-45  (Dublin,  1727.) 

•  Gordon's  lona,  p.  37  (Glasgow,  1885). 


IONA.  25 

ing.  "Torr  Abb",— the  socket  of  a  cross  is  said  to  have 
been  observed.  "  HA  Cj\o-pf  AH  mop" — (The  great  crosses) 
have  been  long  since  removed. 

These  were  prominent  crosses,  but  they  have  vanished ; 
and  their  "  alleged  destruction"  is,  "  at  best  a  vague  tradi- 
tion !"  Dr.  Reeves,  very  properly  qualifies  the  quotation 
in  a  foot-note,  where  he  says — "  There  is  however,  nothing 
in  such  a  tradition  inconsistent  with  the  Reformation  move^ 
ment  in  Scotland".1 

IRISH  INSCRIPTION. 

Among  the  inscriptions  on  the  slabs  that  remain,  only 
two  have  a  special  Irish  interest,  because  on  these  are 
graven  almost  the  oldest  form  of  Irish  lettering  that  is  to 

O  •  O 

be  found  on  mural  monuments.  They  appear  unquestionably 
more  ancient  than  any  others  now  remaining  in  lona. 

Macleans  Cross,  generally  agreed  to  be  a  vulgar  mis- 
nomer,2 is  supposed  to  occupy  the  site  of  the  cross  referred 
to  by  Adamnan,  in  margine  cernitur  viae,  and  which 
Dr.  Reeves  observes  "  is  the  only  one  remaining  in  the 
island  whose  position  answers  this  description.  Its 
age  probably  is  not  so  high  as  the  date  of  these  memoirs 
(Adamnan' s),  but  it  may  occupy  the  site  of  an  earlier  and 
less-  elaborate  monument",3  Graham's  plate  of  this  cross, 
which  he  says — "  is  supposed  to  be  contemporary  with  St. 
Columba",  exhibits  in  outline  a  highly  artistically  carved 
cross  of  Irish  pattern,  11  feet  high  and  only  three  inches 
thick,  of  hard  whinstone.  On  the  projection  of  the  cross 

1  Reeves'  St.  Columba,  p.  420,  note  r. 

2  Reeves'  St.  Columba,  p.  421. 

3  Ibid,  p.  231, note/. 


26  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

standing  above  its  circular  head,  is  an  unmistakable  Fleur 
de  Us  carved  in  relief,  and  the  arms  of  the  cross  extending 
right  and  left  beyond  the  circumference  of  the  circle  have 
carved,  on  one  a  chalice,  and  on  the  other,  a  dagger  or 
short  sword ;  on  the  circle  itself  is  a  draped  figure  repre- 
senting the  Crucifixion  with  a  girdle  and  crown,  while  the 
main  stem  of  the  cross  has  carved  tracery  of  a  kind  cer- 
tainly not  bearing  any  characteristic  of  work  done  at  the 
date  ascribed  to  it.  It  is  much  too  floriated. 

The  stones  bearing  Celtic  inscriptions  have  an  Irish,  if 
not  a  wider  interest.  An  attempt  appears  to  have  been 
made  to  deprive  them  of  their  proper  signification. 

Whether  it  has  been  done  from  ignorance  or  system  it 
matters  not.  Pennant  refers  to  them  thus — "  Among  these 
stones  are  found  two  with  Gaelic  inscriptions,  and  the  form 
of  a  cross  carved  on  each ;  the  words  on  one  were  Cros 
Domhail  fatdsich,  or  The  Cross  of  Donald  Long-Shanks" — 
[assuming/a£  to  be  from  the  adjective/ac?a  long,  the  Gaelic 
word  corresponding  to  "  shanks",  is  lurga,  so  that  how 
Pennant  could  render  fatbsich  into  "  Long-Shanks"  must 
remain  a  mystery]— "  The  other  signified  the  cross  of 
Urchvine  0  Guin.  The  letters  were  those  of  the  most 
ancient  Irish  alphabet,  exhibited  in  Valiancy's  Irish 
grammar".1 

Graham2  gives  illustrations  of  these  stones — the  first  he 
describes  as  a  very  ancient  stone,  with  a  cross  and  Gaelic 
inscription  Orar  anmin  Eogair" — [corresponding  to 
Pennant's  Urchvine  0  Gritiri]:  Graham  proceeds  to  explain 
the  inscription  thus — "  OKAR  probably  stands  for  MOKAR  or 

1  Pennant's  Voyage  to  the  Hebrides,  vol.  2,  p.  249. 
y  Graham's  Antiquities  of  lona,  photos  22-25. 


IONA.  27 

MOR'EAK  (great  man,  or  lord).  ANMIN,  not  explainable. 
EOGAIN,  Eoghan,  Ewen",  and  adds — "  The  stone  is  so  much 
worn,  that  it  is  with  great  difficulty  that  this  inscription  can 
be  made  out,  but  when  the  sun  shines  upon  it,  the  letters 
are  distinctly  traceable  when  examined  with  attention". 

The  second  he  calls  the — "Disputed  inscription",  as  if  the 
first  has  been  irrevocably  fixed  and  determined.  Or 
Domail  Fatasic  (the  cross  Domhail  Fatasich  of  Pennant)  ; 
no  one,  says  Graham,  of  the  inscriptions  in  lonahas  been  so 
much  written  about  as  this,  and  antiquarians  do  not  agree 
as  to  its  signification*  "It  is  in  the  old  Gaelic  characters 
and  has  been  usually  interpreted  into  Donnell  Fadachasach 
"  The  cross  of  Donald  Long-Shanks". 

Here  is  what  the  Rev.  J.  S.  F.  Gordon,  D.D.,  of  St. 
Andrews  Glasgow  says,  so  recently  as  1885. !  "  From  an 
accurate  drawing  made  by  James  Logan,  Esq.,  it  appear 
that  what  is  now  legible  is  but  a  fragment  of  a  much  larger 
inscription,  in  the  old  Gaelic  character  and  runs  thus — ON 
Do  MAIL  FATA,  etc"  the  learned  doctor  adds—"  This  is, 
doubtless,  the  fragment  of  the  tombstone  placed  over 
Alexander  Macdonald,  the  second  of  the  Glengarn  line, 
who  died  by  violence,  and  was  certainly  buried  in  Relig 
Orain,  the  family  burying  place  in  1461.  No  one  of  the 
inscriptions  at  lona,  has  been  so  much  discussed  as  this  one". 

How  ON  Do  MAIL  FATA  is  connected  with  the  second 
of  the  Glengarn  line,  and  what  it  signifies,  the  learned 
doctor  does  not  explain,  though  he  destroys  his  "  Glengarn 
theory"  by  inserting2  an  extract  on  these,  inscriptions  from 
Reeves'  St.  Columba. 

1  Gordon's  lona,  p.  10.  4 

'  Gordon's  lona,  p.  34. 


28  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Dr.  Reeves  says:  —  "The  eldest  tombstones  in  the 
cemetery  are  the  two  with  the  Irish  inscriptions  —  OR  ATI 
«<M1tT11H  6O5A111,  Oratio  super  anima  Eogani. 

%  'OR  T)O  THAlVF-AUATUC  Oratio  pro  Afaelpatricio.1 
Here  we  have  the  "  Cross  Domhail  fafaiscJi'  or  "  The 
cross  of  Donald  Long-Shanks"  of  Pennant;  whom  Graham 
follows  at  an  improved  guess  by  saying  Donned 
FadachasachfiiQ  interpretation  remaining  same  as  Pennant's. 
Dr.  Gordon,  beats  this  with  his  "  ON  Do  MAIL  FATA'' 
which  he  places  (doubtless)  as  the  tombstone  of  "  Mac 
Donald  the  second  Glengarn". 

Dr.  Keeves,  under  date,  A.D.  1174,  -  gives,  "  Mael- 
patraicc  Ua  Banain  episcopus  de  Condere,  obiit  in  Hi 
Coluimcille",  and  says  "  Maelpatricc  —  The  little  rude  slab, 
in  the  Reilig  Grain  at  Hy,  bearing  an  incised  cross  with 
the  inscription  oTT  13O  tnAlVpAUAllIC,  '  A  prayer  for 
Maelpatrick,'  may  be  commemorative  of  him.  In  the 
interval  between  July,  1852,  and  July,  1853,  when  the 
writer  visited  Hy,  part  of  the  slab  (which  is  of  red  sand-stone) 
bearing  the  last  part  of  the  inscription  had  exfoliated  and 
disappeared.  This  inscription  as  well  as  the  other  Irish  one 
in  the  Relig  Grain  has  been  a  fruitful  source  of  speculation 
to  native  antiquaries".3 

In  the  Four  Masters,  under  the  year  1174,  is  recorded 
AUUKAICC  U4t)AriA1t1,  epfcob  Cotvoepe 
<A|\<Mt>e  i:e<\ji  AijrninoneAC  tAn  t)o  name,  "oo 
cenn]'A  ^511^  t)o  t^loine  c|\oit>e  t»o  ecc  co 


1  Beeves'  St.  Columba,  p,  418. 

2  Reeves'  St.  Columba.  p.  408. 

3  Ibid,  p.  408,  note  m.,  also  lona,  by  J.  Huband  Smith,  Ulster  Journal 

Archaeology,  vol.  1,  pp.  84,  85,  86. 


IONA.  29 

ti  1  Cho'lxvim  ChiVle  IAJ\  SeAiTOArAit>  co5Ait>e"i.e. — "Maol 
patrick  O'Banain  Bishop  of  Connor  and  Dal  Aradia,  a  man 
to  be  venerated,  full  of  sanctity  of  life,  mildness  and  purity 
of  heart,  died  in  a  good  old  age  in  Hy  of  Columbkille".1 

Colgan  in  the  Triadis  also  notices  this  Maol-Patrick. 
Considering  that  these  inscriptions  have  been  a  fruitful 
source  of  speculation  to  native  (Scottish)  antiquaries,  Dr. 
Reeves,  in  his  St.  Columba,  might  have  pointed  out  their 
rendering  more  authoritatively,  thereby  laying  the 
spectres  of  Donald  Long  Shanks,  and  Urchuaine  O'Guin, 
with  a  Requiescant  in  pace  for  ever ! 

AUTHOKITIES. 

The  Cros  Domliail  fafasich  of  Pennant,  the  Or  Domail 
Fadachasach  of  Graham,  and  the  On  do  mail  Fata  of 
Gordon,  is  properly  rendered  by  Dr.  Reeves  as  »i»  OTfOO 
ITlAll/pAUAtllC,  6~p"  being  a  well  recognized  form  of 
contraction  used  in  ancient  Irish  inscriptions  and  MSS.  for 
the  word  OJAAIT),  or  OJIAC,  a  prayer  and  rendered  by 
Reeves,  Oratio,  t)o  for  pro,  [mAit,  a  servant  of,  PAUAJMC, 
Patrick,  i.e. — "  A  prayer  for  the  servant  of  Patrick"  the  »fc 
denoting  the  sign  of  the  Bishop, — 111  All,  pATTRAICC  tk\ 
bAtiAin  (as  we  have  seen)  being  Bishop  of  Connor  and  Dal' 
Aradia,  Down  and  Connor. 

The  (Urchvine  0* Guiri)  of  Pennant,  and  the  (Orar  anmin 
Eogain)  of  Graham,  becomes  as  stated  by  Reeves  OR  -All 
-Antrim  eO^Ain,  Oratio  super  anima  Eogani.  OR  con- 
traction for  OlxAIT),  AH  An  nun,  on  the  soul.anmor, 
COgAlll,  Eoghain,  Eogani,  i.e.  A  prayer  on  the  soul  of 
Eoghain. 

1  See  note  O.  by  O'Donovan,  under  year  1174.  /'..I/. 


30  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

It  is  quite  possible  that  this  slab  and  inscription  was 
originally  laid  over  Gogh  ATI  (UA  CeAjAnAit^h)  ATpcmnech 
*Ooijie,  who  died  on  the  18th  Kals.  Jan.  1096,  as  given  by 
the  Four  Masters.  Reeves  gives  the  date  of  the  death 
of  the  Aircinneach,  or  Superior  Eoghain  O'Cearnaigh,  of 
Deny  as  occuring  on  the  15th  Deer.,  1096.1 

1  J.  Huband  Smith  contributed  an  interesting  article  on  lona  to  the 
Ulster  Journal  of  Archaeology,  vol.  1,  pp.  79-91,  in  which  he  enters  the 
correct  rendering  of  the  Irish  inscriptions,  this  volume  was  published  in 
1853.  Beeves'  Columba  is  dated  1857,  Smith  points  out  that  Pennant, 
Maclean,  Benjamin  Motte,  Graham,  and  even  Dr.  Danl.  Wilson  in  his 
Archaeology  and  Prehistoric  Annals  of  Scotland  are  all  more  or  less 
incorrect,  W.  F.  Skene  in  his  "  Ancient  Inscribed  Scottish  Monuments" 
appears  to  approach  nearest  to  the  correct  rendering. 


III. 

THE  O'BROLCHAINS, 


From  plate  xxti.,  Pennant's  Tour  in  Scotland,  Che«ter,  1774. 


IONA. 

The  cathedral,  or  ecluf  TTIOJA,  is  stated  by  Reeves  and 
others  to  be  an  edifice  of  the  early  part  of  the  13th  century : 
"The  capitals  of  some  of  the  columns  exhibit  bas-reliefs 
similar  to  many  found  in  Ireland.  The  inscription  on  a 
capital  of  the  S.E.  column  clearly  denotes  the  name  of  the 
builder,  which  tends  to  confirm  a  belief  that  artificers  were 
in  part  hereditary  during  the  Middle- Ages.  The  Ua 
Brolcliain,  a  branch  of  the  Kinel-Owen,  were  an  old  family 
in  Inis-Owen.1  The  first  of  the  name  mentioned  in  the  Irish 

1  Reeves'  St.  Columba,  p.  406. 


32  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 


Annals   is   TnAelbjii^lToe  HA   "bfiotcnAn,  styled   by  the 
"  Four  Masters  "  prnorhfAori,  or  chief  artificer  of  6pm  ;  and 
his  death  is  set  down  at  1029.     Keeves  quotes  Ann.  Ult. 
where  he  is  styled  (Chief  Mason  of  Ireland)  ttlAelior'A  UA 
bfiolctiAin,   Lector   of  t)och-ChonAif,  in  Inis-Owen,  the 
wisest  senior  in  Ireland,  died  16th  January,  1086.'     Ae*oTi 
ITIAC  THAet-1ofA  U  A  brtotcliAin;  who  is  styled  praecipuus 
lector,  died  1095,  and  at  1097,  TTlAet  bi^troe  (THAC  ATI 
rfAor*),  son  of  the  artificer,  11  A  blotch  Ain,  who  had  become 
Bishop   of  Kildare,  died.     Of  this  family,  TTlAel-cotAitn 
and   another  TnAet-bjujlToe,    were   bishops   of  Armagh, 
dying  in    1122  and  1139  respectively,  and  "ptAicbejAUAch 
UA  bjAotcAin,  coarb  of  Columbkille  died  at  Derry  1175, 
about  this  time  (1164)  the  abbacy  of  Hy  was  offered  to 
Flaithbertaigh—  but  owing  to  the  task  of  re-erecting  his 
Cathedral  of  Deny,  he  was  not  permited  by  the  Arch- 
bishop of  Armagh,  and  the  King  of  Ireland  to  accept  it. 

'OomtiAtt  HA  b]Ao1cliAin,  prior  of  Derry,   died   April 
27th,  1202.     It  is  to  this  Domnal  that  the  erection  of  the 
Eclus-Mor  of  lona,  is  attributed.     "  On  the  capital  of  the 
south-east  column  under  the  tower,  near  the  angle  of  the 
south  transept  and   choir  of  the  cathedral  in  Hy  are  the 
remains    of  the    inscription  ^  DONALDU8    O'BBOLCHAN 
FECIT  Hoc  OPUS,  Graham  says  in  1850,  "Two  years  ago 
the  inscription  was  quite  perfect,  but  since  that  time  the 
corner  of  the  capital  has  been  knocked  off,  and  some  of  the 
letters  obliterated."2     Reeves  says  he  examined  it  in  1853 
and  found  only  DONALDUS  0  ......  ECIT  Hoc  OPUS. 

The  inscription  runs  along  the  face  of  two  sides  of  the 

1  Acta.  SS,  p.  108. 

2  Graham's  lona,  p.  23. 


THE  O'BROLCHAINS.  33 

principal  abacus,  so  that  the  fracture  of  an  angle  removes  the 
middle  part  of  the  legend  as  the  column  is  clustered,  there 
is  an  appendage  to  the  abacus,  on  the  face  of  which  the  two 
last  words  are  continued  at  a  right  angle".1  "This  is  tho 
most  ornamented  with  grotesque  reliefs  of  any  in  the 
building.  Those  figured  in  Graham's  lona  plates  xii.,  2, 
xlii.,  1,  belong  to  it.  It  has  besides  a  monstrous  animal 
with  two  bodies  meeting  in  one  head,  a  pair  of  griffins  with 
tails  entwined,  and  at  the  junction  a  grotesque  head. 
'  Could  these  designs  (Reeves  asks),  so  characteristic  of  the 
Irish  school  be  the  Hue  opus  of  O'Brolcliain  ?'  "  2  To  this 
query  there  only  can  be  one  intelligent  reply.  O'Brolchain^ 
the  excelsus  senior,  died  27th  April,  1202.  The  Irish  school 
and  the  Irish  mind  had  founded  lona,  and  had  mainly 
directed  its  usefulness  for  nearly  seven  hundred  years. 
Donegal  was  the  home  of  its  founder,  as  it  was  now,  in  the 
beginning  of  the  13th  century,  the  place  from  whence  it 
derived  its  re-organization.  After  the  first  quarter  of  the  13th 
century,  the  Scottish  element  appears  to  have  prevailed  in 
lona  up  to  the  date  of  its  last  abbot  in  1492. 

Petrie,  in  1833,  gave  a  drawing  of  an  ancient  bronze 
altar  vessel,  having  an  Irish  inscription  around  its  neck, 
"  which  is  in  a  beautiful  square  Irish  character"  *%*  Oil 
*Oo  niA]\cAin  1m  t)]iotAc1iAin,  "  Pray  for  Martin  O'Brola- 
chain".  The  Annals  of  Inisfallen,  and  Four  Masters,  shews 
that  this  Martin  O'Brolochain  was  professor  of  Divinity  in 
the  Abbey  of  Armagh,  and  is  called  the  most  wise  of  all 
the  Irish  of  his  time;  he  died  in  the  year  1188.  This 
beautiful  bronze  altar  cup  is  about  three  inches  high,  two 

1  Reeves'  <bV.  ColumLa,  p.  109,  note  o. 

2  Reeves'  Si.  Columba.  p.  411,  note  w. 


34  INIS-OWEX  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

and  a  half  inches  in  diameter,  globular  in  form,  narrowing 
to  the  neck  and  mouth  to  one  inch  in  diameter.  It  was 
found  in  the  ruins  of  an  old  church  in  Island  Magee, 
Co.  Antrim,  it  was  used  by  an  old  woman  of  the  neigh- 
bourhood for  many  years  to  hold  oil  for  her  spinning 
wheel.1  It  has  two  lugs  cast  on  at  the  beginning  of  the 
neck  for  the  purpose  of  allowing  it  to  be  suspended  around 
the  neck  of  the  person  in  safety.  It  is  at  present  in  the 
Museum  of  Antiquities,  Belfast ;  and  as  a  work  of  art 
reflects  great  credit  on  the  workman  who  designed  it. 

Shakespeare  recognized  one  of  the  churches  dedicated 
to  St.  Columkille.  Itosse,  a  Scottish  noble,  asks — "  Where 
is  Duncan's  body  ?  "  Macduff  replies  "  carried  to  Colmes- 
kill,  the  sacred  storehouse  of  his  predecessors,  and  guar- 
dian of  their  bones".2  This  however  refers  to  another  islet, 
Inchcolm,  on  the  East  of  Scotland,  in  the  Firth  of  Forth. 

An  Irish  poet,  when  about  flying  from  Ireland,  who  sought 
and  obtained  a  refuse  in  his  flight  amon^  the  mountain 

o  o  o 

slopes  of  Inis-Owcn,  where  they  overlook  the  Valley  of 
Culdaff,  sang  of  lona  :3 — 

"  In  that  lovely  isle,  the  North  Star  shines 
On  crownless  kings,  and  saints  without  shrines, 
There  Jarls  from  Orkney  and  Heligoland, 
And  Thanes  from  York  and  from  Cumberland, 
And  Maormars  of  Moray,  and  Lenix  and  Levin, 
Cruel  in  life,  lie  hoping  for  heaven, 
There  leaguers  from  Norway  and  stern  Macbeth. 
Are  stretched  at  the  feet  of  the  democrat  Death. 
And  chieftains  of  Ulster,  and  Lords  of  Lorn, 
There  wait  for  the  trump  of  all  fouls'  morn". 

1   The  Dublin  Penny  Journal,  vol.  1.,  no.  50, p.  412. 
_  *  Macbeth,  Act  2,  Scene  iv. 
1  Poems  by  Thomas  D'Arcy  Mapce,  p.  219,  stnnz.  11,  New  York  (18(10). 


I.   COLM    KILL.  35 

lona,  encircled  in  a  halo  of  silvery  waves,  soon  became 
the  school  from  whence  streams  of  civilization  flowed,  that 
spread  over  the  adjoining  countries,  whilst  the  writings  and 
precepts  of  its  founder  were  held  in  highest  veneration.1 

De  Courcy,  the  first  of  the  mailed  Normans  penetrating 
into  Ulster,  as  told  us  by  Cambrensis,  the  recorder  of  their 
defeats  and  advances,  held  St.  Columba's  writings  in  such 
veneration,  that  he  carried  them  about  in  his  excursions 
and  nestings,  making  them  do  the  part  of  peacemakers 
where  his  forces  failed,  and  as  the  mirror  of  his  own  actions  ! 

Dr.  Samuel  Johnson's  impressions  of  lona  have  since 
silenced  many  a  "  frigid  philosopher"2 — 

"  We  were  very  near  an  island  called  Nuns'  Island,  from 
an  ancient  convent ;  here  is  said  to  have  been  dug  the  stone 
said  to  have  been  used  in  the  buildings  of  I.  Colin  Kill. 
At  last  we  came  to  I.  Colin  Kill,  but  found  no  convenience 
for  landing,  our  boat  could  not  be  forced  dry  near  the  dry 
ground,  and  our  Highlanders  carried  us  over  the  water. 

We  are  now  treading  that  illustrious  island,  which  was 
once  the  luminary  of  the  Caledonian  regions,  whence 
savage  clans  and  roving  barbarians  derived  the  benefits  of 
knowledge  and  the  blessings  of  religion.  To  abstract  the 
mind  from  all  local  emotions  would  be  impossible  if  it  were 
endeavoured;  and  would  be  foolish  if  it  were  possible. 
Whatever  withdraws  us  from  the  power  of  our  senses, 
whatever  makes  the  past,  the  distant,  or  the  future,  pre- 
dominate over  the  present  advances  us  in  the  dignity  of 
thinking  beings. 

1  Reeve's  St.  Columba,  p.  313. 

2  Dr.  Johnson's  Journey  to  the  Western  Highlands  of  Scotland,  p.  241 
and  following  reprint  (Dublin,  1775X 


36  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCOXNELL 

Far  from  me,  and  from  my  friends,  be  such  frigid  philo- 
sophy as  may  conduct  us  indifferent  and  unmoved  over 
any  ground  which  has  been  dignified  by  wisdom,  bravery, ' 
or  virtue.  The  man  is  little  to  be  envied  whose  patriotism 
would  not  gain  force  on  the  plains  of  Marathon,  or  whose 
piety  would  not  grow  warmer  among  the  ruins  of  lona'V 

The  flags  and  other  chiseled  stones  now  strewn  over 
the  floor  of  the  cathedral  should  be  preserved  by  those  who 
are  now  the  custodians  of  these  venerable  ruins  ;  and  ought 
not  be  subjected  to  the  continuous  trampling  of  tourists.  Is 
there  no  society  in  Scotland  for  the  preservation  of  ancient 
monuments  ;*or  is  lona  excluded  from  Sir  J.  Lubbock's  Act?" 

Donegal  continued  to  furnish — during  the  golden  age  of 
Irish  thought — leaders  in  the  cause  of  Christian  civilization 
and  human  enlightenment,  many  of  whom  have  left  the 
impress  of  their  minds  on  the  records  of  the  sixth,  seventh, 
eighth  and  following  centuries — St.  Baithene  of  Taugh- 
boyne ;  St.  Mura,  Maelmura,  and  Fothad  the  Canonist, 
natives  of  Inis-Owen,  at  the  Abbey  of  Fahan,  beneath  the 
shadow  and  protection  of  "  Aileach  of  the  Kings",  taught 
and  wrote  in  the  Scotic  tongue  and  Celtic  verse. jj 

The  remnants  of  their  writings  that  have  come  down  to 
us,  are  received  by  historians  and  antiquarians  as  belonging 
to  the  highest  order  of  merit  of  that  period. 

LUX   IN   TENEBRIS. 

The  social  life  of  Ireland,  like  its  climate,  has  frequently 
become  overclouded  for  a  time,  generally  by  the  influence 

1  Dr.  Johnson's  Journey  to  (he  Ilcbrirles,  vol.  vii.,  original  edition,  p.  385. 
1  The  Duke  of  Argyll  is  stated  to  be  the  owner. 

3  Fragments  of  Annals,  translated  by  O'Donovan,  p.  11,  etc,  (I.  A.  and 
C.  S.,  18GO),  also  O'Reilly's  Link  Writers,  pp.  xli.,  lv.,  hi. 


MARIANUS    SCOTUS.  37 

of  some  foreign  element,  obscuring  the  brilliancy  it  cannot 
destroy ;  even  during  the  so-called  dark  ages,  Inis-Owen 
and  Tirconnell  sent  forth  their  children  to  shed  the  light 
of  religion  and  civilization  abroad ;  whilst  at  home,  they 
preseved  their  inheritance  of  sanctity  and  learning. 

MARIANUS   SCOTUS. 

Abroad,  the  most  celebrated  Donegal  man  of  that  age; 
was  Muredach  MacRobartaigh,  belonging  to  the  family  of 
the  MacRobartaighs}  of  Bally macrorty,  the  hereditary  cus- 
todians of  the  "  Cathach"  or  fighting  standard  of  the 
O'Donnells.  Under  the  name  of  Marianus  Scotus  he 
founded  the  Irish  convent  of  Ratisbon.  Born  in  1028,  he 
forsook  the  world  in  1052  ;  four  years  later  he  left  his 
native  mountains  and  journeyed  into  Germany,  then  the 
field  of  labour  for  many  an  Irish  missionary.  He  lived  as  a 
monk  for  three  years  at  St.  Martin's  Convent  at  Cologne, 
when  he  was  ordained  a  priest ;  for  ten  years  he  cloistered 
himself  in  the  Abbey  of  Fuld.  He  died  at  Mentz, 
A.D.,  1086  in  the  58th  year  of  his  age,  leaving  behind 
him— as  we  are  told  by  continental  authors — a  great  repu- 
tation for  sanctity ;  and,  "  that  without  comparison  he 
was  the  most  learned  man  of  his  age,  an  excellent  historian, 
a  famous  man  at  calculations,  and  a  solid  divine ;  that  he 
was  learned  in  the  Sacred  Scriptures,  well  skilled  in  all  the 
sciences,  of  a  subtle  genius  and  of  an  exemplary  life''.2 

His  copy  of  St.  Paul's  Epistles,  finished  in  1079,illustratcd 
wi  th  marginal  and  inteiiineary  annotations,  is  still  preserved 

1  Now  commonly  written  Magroarty. 

2  For  list  of  writings  see  Wares'  Writers  of  Ireland,  by  Walter  Harris, 
Book  I.,  pp.  GG  7,  Dublin,  17GI. 


38  INIS-OWEN   AND    T1RCONNELL. 

in  the  Imperial  Library  at  Vienna.  At  the  end  of  this  trans- 
cript he  has  as  a  gloss  upon  the  words  "  Marianas  Scotus\ 
entered  his  Irish  name,  Muredach  MacRobartaigh,  adding 
"  Scripsit  hunc  librnmsuisfralribus,peregrini^'  • '  showing 
that  he  had  written  it  for  the  use  of  his  brethern  then 
traveling  abroad. 


[THE  BELL  OF  ST.  BOEDAN,  Culdaff-Inis-Owen.]2 

MAELISSA    O'BUOLLCKJIIAN. 

About  the  time  Marianas  Sool/.ts  was  teaching  Chris- 
tianity and  literature  on  the  Continent,  at  home,  on  a  green 
slope  of  Inis-Owcn,  flourished  the  monastic  abbey  of  Both- 
chonais  now  known  as  Tcmplcmorc  in  the  townland  of 
Carrowmore,  where  the  only  remains  that  at  present  exist 

1  Gilbert's  National  MSS.  of  Ireland,  p.  8,  London,  1884. 
*  See  Crosses  and  Antiquities  of  Inishowen,    "  PIWCEEDINGS''  K.I. A., 
3rd  Ser.,  Vol.  ii.  No.  l.p.  1  M. 


BOTH-CHONAIS.  39 

to  mark  the  site,  are  the  ancient  stone  crosses,  the  outlines 
of  the  tlel/ij,  and  penitential  station. ' 

Here  taught  Maelissa  O'Brolloghan,  the  Inis-Owen 
divine.  Colgan,  tells  us  in  his  life  of  St.  Molisius,  that  "  he 
was  a  man  celebrated  for  his  virtues  and  sanctity  of  life,2 
and  though  the  wreck  of  time  and  warlike  tumults  had 
snatched  from  us  the  deeds  and  miracles,  they  could  not 
efface  his  illustrious  memory  as  handed  down  by  different 
writers".  Born  in  the  old  peninsula,  which  Colgan  calls 
"  an  honest  place",  deriving  his  origin  from  the  family  of 
O'Brolchain,  of  a  noble  and  renowned  lineage,  who  were 
descended  from  Eugenius  the  progenitor  and  founder  of 
the  house  of  O'Neill. 

Colgan  continues  "  The  holy  Maelissa  in  his  early  youth 
in  the  monastery  of  Both-Chonais,  became  imbued  with 
learning,  moral  theology  and  disciplinary  precepts,  by 
which  at  length  he  progressed  to  the  summit  of  perfection, 
so  that  no  one  of  his  age  in  all  Ireland  was  found  to  excel 
him  in  the  sanctity  of  his  life,  or  his  knowledge  of  science, 
few,  indeed,  if  any  equalled  him.  About  the  year  1070, 
when  the  holy  Senior  of  Hibernia  flourished,  he  was 
considered  pre-eminent  in  the  knowledge  of  science,  re- 
ligion, and  antiquities,  and  was  an  accomplished  linguist. 
Moreover,  he  was  the  author  of  many  works  which  of 
themselves  furnish  sufficient  and  incontestable  proof  of  his 
great  erudition,  and  his  knowledge  of  all  the  sciences". 

Colgan  further  adds  that  some  of  his  works  were  extant 
even  in  his  own  time,  but  all  trace  of  those  he  refers  to 

1  Inis-Otoen  and  TirconneU,  pp.  47-49,  Dublin,  1891. 

2  Colgan's  Ada  Sanctorum  Hibernia;,  p.  108,  and  notes. 


40  '   INIS-OWEX   AXD   TIRCONXKLL. 

have  been  lost,  only  two  poems  in  the  Irish  language 
attributed  to  Maelissa  are  known  to  exist,  one  of  fifty-two 
verses,  in  which  the  author  begs  "God  to  keep  him  from 
sin",  and  the  second  is  an  exhortation,  "  to  keep  the  fasts 
prescribed  by  the  Church",  it  begins  with  "  No  feasting  on 
Fridays",  he  died  in  A.D.,  1086.1 

Colgan,  referring  to  some  notes,  then  in  his  possession, 
concerning  this  family  of  O'Brollaghan  of  the  same  place, 
says — "  that  owing  to  the  vicissitudes  of  things,  they  did  not 
then  represent  their  former  splendour".  The  charter  of 
their  ancient  respectability  given  here  on  such  an  authority 
ought  to  be  of  greater  value  to  an  O'Brollaghan  than  if  his 
genealogical  tree  bore  the  imprimatur  of  an  "  Ulster  king 
of  Armsv. 


IV. 
SU.  A'OArhlMn:  ST.  EUNAN. 


O'Donovan's  close  investigation  produced  the  identifica- 
tion of  St.  Adamnan,  Abbot  of  lona,  with  St.  Eunan, 
Bishop  of  Raphoc,  and  we  are  not  aware  that  O'Donovan 
has  been  hitherto  sufficiently  accredited  with  the  dis- 
covery. 

Sir  James  AVare,  in  writing  of  the  See  of  Raphoc  says  — 
"  It  seems,  it  was  St.  Eunan  who  erected  the  church  of 
this  abbey  into  a  cathedral,  and  who  is  looked  upon  to  be 

1  O'Reilly's  Irish  Writers,  p.  Ixxxi.  Dublin,  1820. 


ST.  EUNAN.  41 

the  first  bishop  of  this  see.  But  upon  the  strictest 
inquiry  I  could  make,  I  have  not  been  able  to  discover  the 
exact  time  in  which  he  lived.  It  was  not  long  since  his 
bed  hath  been  shown  at  Raphoe". 4  Harris  was  unable 
to  throw  any  light  on  the  subject,  and  Adamnan,  whom 
the  Venerable  Bede  calls  "  a  good  and  a  wise  man,  and  one 
of  very  ample  knowledge  in  the  Holy  Scriptures"2  was 
handed  down  to  us  on  the  authority  of  so  distinguished  an 
antiquarian  as  Ware,  as  being  a  different  individual  from 
St.  Eunan. 

Lanigan,  like  Ware,  was  puzzled  by  the  names,  and 
recoiled  from  his  own  stroke  towards  its  solution.  Thus  he 
says — "  I  strongly  suspect  that  St.  Eunan,  who  is  usually 
called  the  first  Bishop  of  Raphoe,  was  no  other  than 
Adamnan".  Lanigan  complains  that  "  Colgan  never 
mentions  this  St.  Eunan",  although,  when  it  suits  his  own 
theory  he  frequently  reproves  Colgan,  yet  in  this  case  he 
feels  the  want  of  Colgan's  support :  continuing  he  says — 
"  These  observations  are  not  sufficient  to  shew,  that 
Adamnan,  has  been  changed  into  St.  Eunan".  Then  begin 
his  doubts — "The  name  Eunan  is  I  allow,  not  favourable 
to  the  conjecture  of  his  identity  with  Adamnan,  but  there 
might  have  been  some  reason  for  this  variation  of  names, 
and  a  person  better  versed  in  the  Irish  language  than  I  am 
might  perhaps  find  some  analogy  between  them".3 

The  person,  "  better  versed  in  the  Irish  language",  so 
devoutly  wished  for  by  Dr.  Lanigan,  was  found  a  few  years 
later  on  in  O'Donovan.  Writing  from  Maghera,  O'Donovan 

1  Harris's  Ware,  vol.  l,pp.  2G9,  270. 

2  Eccl.  Hint.  Lib.  5,  cap.  16. 

3  Lanigan's  Eccl  Hist.,  vol.  III.,  pp.  99, 100,  (Dublin,  1822). 


42  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

observes,  "  You  mention  that  Stokes",  (one  of  his  assistants 
attached  to'the  Ordinance  Survey)  "found  out  atGarvagh 
that  £St.  Onan  was  Adamnan,  I  wish  you  would  ask 
Stokes  who  told  him  that  Onan  was  Adamnan,  because 
I  have  not  met  one  that  could  tell  anything  about  him. 
It  was  I  told  Stokes,  and  I  suppose  he  has  mistaken  me 
for  Brian-na-Mann,  (Mullan)  the  Senior  of  the  oldest  branch 
of  the  O'Mullans,  esteemed  lor  his  honesty  and  noble 
principles.  I  spent  all  day  yesterday  with  him,  and  I  was 
never  more  gratified,  he  bears  a  very  high  character  in  the 
country,  one  corresponding  to  the  characters  given  to  the 
Irish  chieftains,  in  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters.  I  have 
not  been  able  after  a  long  search  for  Seanachies,  to 
discover  any  one  circumstance  connected  with  (St.  Onan) 
his  life  or  era,  all  they  remember  is  St.  Onan  was  patron 
of  Erigal  (Co.  Deny)  ;  but  there  is  not  one  in  Glenuller, 
that  ever  heard  the  name  pronounced  Adamnan,  I  got 
Brian  Mann  Mullan  (who  reads  Irish  well)  to  write  the 
name  for  me  as  he  thought  it  would  be  spelled  in  Irish 
and  he  wrote  OriAii :  I  told  him  that  such  a  name  does  not 
appear  in  the  Irish  Calendar,  and  wrote  for  him  -{VoAtTinAn, 
aspirating  the  "6  and  rii,  as  Irish  writers  always  do,  and 
requested  of  him  to  pronounce  that  combination  of  letters 
according  to  his  dialect.  He  pronounced  it  Aun<Mi  (u-oo- 
nan)  Awnan.  The  Irish  pronounce  the  name,  which  they 
write  At>Am,  some  what  like  the  diphthong  au,  in  English".1 
O'Donovan  gives  numerous  instances  of  the  various 
inflections,  and  peculiarities  of  provincialisms  used  in 
many  Irish  words,  and  says,  "  It  can  be  directly  proved 
that  St.  Onan,  is  Adamnan.  The  pronunciation  in  the 
1  See  .also,  Inis-Owcn  and  Tirconncll,  1st  series,  p.  70. 


ST.   EUNAN.  43 

parish  agrees  with  the  Irish  spelling  of  his  name,  and 
Colgan,  who  well  knew  the  pronunciation  and  the  spelling, 
mentions  in  a  note  that  Adamnanus  was  venerated  (colitur) 
at  Airegal,  this  is  proof  enough".1 

O'Donovan  after  defining  the  word  Airegal  (a  place, 
locality,  a  residence,  or  habitation)  an  apartment,  as  Airegal 
Adamnain,  i.e.  Adamnan's  place,  residence,  or  church,  con- 
tinues, "I  must  return  to  Adamnan,  (an  old  sage  who 
puzzles  me  much)  ;  it  appears  that  a  St.  Eunan  (pronounced 
Unan),  Bishop  and  Confessor,  is  the  Patron  of  Raphoe, 
where  his  festival  is  kept  on  the  7th  September.  By  his 
festival  I  do  not  mean  that  there  is  a  holiday  kept  in 
honour  of  him,  but  that  his  name  is  mentioned  in  the  Mass 
of  that  day.  Now  I  have  no  books  to  refer  to,  but  I  am  at 
present  satisfied  that  Onan  and  Unan  are  a  corruption  of 
the  name  -dtxMtiriAn,  and  I  have  a  clear  recollection  that 
Colgan  always  explains,  "  Comharba  Choluim  chilie  agiig 
Adhamhnain"  (to  be)  Abbot  of  Derry  and  Raphoe,  and 
that  he  states  in  a  note  that  Adamnanus  was  venerated  at 
Raphoe  and  Airegal;  and  by  Comharba  (Coarb)  Adham- 
nain,  he  always  understood  abbot  of  Raphoe.  Colgan,  who 
was  born  in  the  Diocese  of  Raphoe  (O'Donovan  was  under 
the  impression  that  Inis-Owen,  formerly  belonged  to  the 
Diocese  of  Raphoe),  was  better  acquainted  with  this 
subject  than  anyone  now  living"2 

Before  passing  from  O'Donovan's  reference  to  this 
locality,  what  he  has  recorded  of  one  or  two  persons  from 
whom  he  received  assistance  in  the  district  of  Maghera  may 

1  O'Donovan's    Ordnance   Survey  Letters,   in  K.I.A.,  dated   Maghera, 
August  23rd,  1834. 

2  Ibidem. 


44  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIECONNELL. 

be  interesting,  as  at  least  one  of  the  names  has  been  well 
and  favourably  known  to  many  Donegal  men. 
O'Donovan  says, "  I  had  Mr.  JohnMcCloskey  here  all  day, 
he  is  a  sensible,  clever,  and  worthy  man,  universally  liked 
and  respected  by  all  classes.  He  has  lent  me  statistical 
accounts  of  the  parishes  of  Dungiven,  Banagher,  Boveragh, 
Desertmartin.  Kilcronaghan  and  Ballynascreen,  and  pro- 
mises to  give  us  every  assistance  in  his  power  besides  the 
MSS.  he  has  lent.  He  has  several  notes  concerning  the 
antiquities  of  the  county  and  its  general  history,  he  is  a 
man  of  vast  erudition,  a  rara  avis.  In  his  account  of 
Ballynascreen  he  gives  specimens  of  the  poetic  productions 
of  the  Rev.  Christopher  Conway,  R.C.  priest.  Conway  is 
an  Anglicizing  of  the  word  MacConmidhe,  the  name  of 
O'Kane's  Bard".1 

The  poem  O'Donovan  refers  to  was  a  Latin  satire  upon 
a  certain  person  named  Francis  who  pledged  his  horse, 
having  made  his  pilgrimage  as  an  equestrian,  but  returned 
a  pedestrian.  Another  was  a  Latin  poem,  on  one  Rody 
Cassidy,  with  one  on  Phelimy  O'Neill,  who  upon  becoming 
rich,  had  deserted  his  religion  and  changed  his  name  to 
Felix  Neil.  O'Donovan's  rendering  from  the  Latin  of  Father 
Conway's  last  named  poem  will  serve  as  an  example  of  their 

style. 

"All  things  has  Felix  changed,  he  changed  himself, 

Among  the  mountaineers  he  scorned  to  lead 

A  sluggish  life  ;  despising  bracks  and  brogues, 

He  laid  aside  the  arms  of  his  old  tribe  (i.e.  The  ship,  the  salmon  and  the 
famed  red  hand), 

And  blushed  to  hear  his  name  pronounced  O'Neall ! 

Poor  man,  deserter  of  thy  noble  tribe. 

Infelix  Felix  !  do  return  in  time". 
'  O'Donovan's  Letters  in  RJ.A.,  Maghera,  August  24th,  1834. 


»  ST.    EUNAN.  45 

O'Donovan  pronounced  the  Latin  of  these  poems  to  be 
perfectly  classical,  and  particularly  valuable  as  the  pro- 
duction of  a  descendant  of  the  hereditary  bards  of  the 
district. 

INTELLECT   AND   RELIGION. 

O'Donovan's  estimate  of  John  McCloskey,  is  shewn 
when  he  mentions  a  question  forced  upon  his  notice  by  the 
Rev.  W.  Knox,  then  Rector  of  Maghera,  who  endeavoured 
to  persuade  O'Donovan  that  the  religious  belief  held  by 
Catholics,  as  contrasted  with  the  Scotch  and  English  of  the 
plantation,  who  were  Protestant  and  Presbyterians  — 
rendered  the  Catholics  inferior  to  their  dissenting  neigh- 
tours — in  intellectual  powers,  and  totally  incapable  of 
comprehen cling  abstract  or  metaphysical  subjects.  Yet 
Mr.  Knox  declared  his  Catholic  neighbours  to  be  as  honest 
in  their  dealings,  as  obliging  to  their  benefactors,  and  as 
obedient  to  their  superiors  as  those  of  any  other  religion.1 
We  have  often  heard  the  same  assertions  made,  and  the 
chief  reason  assigned  for  Ulster's  superiority,  when  con- 
trasted with  the  other  provinces,  has  been  declared  to  be 
consequent  upon  the  majority  of  its  inhabitants  being 
Protestant. 

Here  is  what  O'Donovan  wrote  on  this  subject,  forced 
unwillingly  on  his  notice,  and  says — "  which  I  wish  to 
avoid.  I  am  convinced  Mr.  Knox  speaks  his  candid  opinion, 
yet  I  do  not  believe  that  the  mind  of  the  Irish  Catholic  is  in~ 
ferior  to  that  of  the  Scotch  and  English  here,  nor  do  I  believe 
that  the  Catholic  religion  checks  the  progress  of  intellectual 
improvement".  O'Donovan  proceeds — "McCloskey,  a 

i  O'Donovan's  0.  S.  Letters,  R.I.A.,  Maghera,  August  24th,  1834. 


46  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

cleverer  man  than  Mr.  Knox,  has  given  the  following 
character  of  the  Irish  and  Scotch  settlers  for  the  North 
West  Society,  and  there  is  no  man  now  living  that  knows 
this  Irish  district  better,  or  better  understands  the  capacity 
of  the  Irish  mind  in  attaining  knowledge  than  McCloskey. 
Of  the  Irish,  he  says  :  "  Taken  as  a  body,  if  not  better 
educated  than  the  race  of  settlers,  their  exertions  to  acquire 
education  are  greater ;  they  are  unquestionably  more  ac- 
tive, more  enterprizing,  more  intelligent,  and  when  placed 
in  situations  favourable  to  the  development  of  the  faculties, 
mental  and  physical,  their  superiorty  is  quite  manifest. 

They  have  been  often  taunted,  and  by  professed  friends 
too,  with  their  clan-like  propensities,  and  servile  submission 
to  leaders. 

Formerly,  perhaps,  they  may  have  been  too  easily 
caught  by  the  magic  of  a  name,  and  have  leaned  too  often 
on  rotten  reeds ;  but  this  confiding  temper  is  now  nearly 
effaced.  It  can  scarcely  be  reckoned  among  their  present 
foibles,  and,  yet  in  the  ordeal  of  bondage  and  persecution 
which  they  had  to  undergo,  a  recourse  to  patronage  may 
have  been  pardonable. 

There  are  shades  yet  darker  in  the  portrait,  their  thought- 
lessness, their  irritability,  their  improvidence,  their  stoical 
indifference  to  personal  and  domestic  convenience ;  and 
the  apathetic  acquiescence  of  the  poor  under  the  privations 
of  their  abject  state  —  are  the  greatest  obstacles  to  their 
improvements".1 

EDUCATION   UNDER  DIFFICULTIES. 
McCloskey 's   estimate  of  the  character  of  the  people  of 
l_  O'Donovan's  Co.  Dcrry  Toilers,  in  R.I.A.,  Maghera,  August,  1834. 


ST.  EUNAN.  47 

this  Irish  district  is  sustained  by  Rev.  Alexander  Ross, 
Protestant  Rector  of  Dungiven  ;  for,  in  a  very  carefully 
prepared  statistical  account  of  this  parish  he  has  a  chapter 
on  what  he  terms,  "  two  races  of  men  as  totally  distinct  as 
if  they  belonged  to  different  countries  and  regions. 
"  These  (in  order  that  we  may  avoid  the  invidious  terms 
of  Protestant  and  Roman  Catholic,  which,  indeed,  have 
little  to  say  to  the  matter),  may  be  distinguished  by  the 
usual  names  of  Scotch  and  Irish,  the  former  including  the 
descendants  of  all  the  Scotch  and  English  colonists  who 
emigrated  hither  since  the  time  of  James  L,  and  the  latter 
comprehending  the  native  and  original  inhabitants  of  the 
country".1  Mr.  Ross  points  out  what  is,  in  his  opinion,  the 
steady  patient  foresight  of  the  Scotch,  and  the  more  rash 
and  variable  temperament  of  the  Irish,  what  he  terms  their 
inferiority  he  does  not  ascribe  to  their  religion,  but  to  the 
traits  and  customs  derived  from  their  ancestors.2 

Genius  and  disposition,  says  Ross,  may  be  divided  by  the 
same  line  as  occupations  and  language ;  but,  as  in  the 
former  case  the  superiority  of  the  Scotch  was  manifest^ 
so  in  this,  the  advantages  are  altogether  on  the  side  of  the 
native  Irish.  With  the  Scotch,  most  of  them  can  read,  write, 
and  understand  a  little  arithmetic ;  yet  remarkable  talent  is 
absent;  "  but  in  the  mountains  among  the  Irish,  the  few 
who  receive  instruction  siirmount  by  ardent  zeal  and  per- 
severing talent  every  obstacle  to  knowledge  and  often  arrive 
at  attainments  in  literature  of  which  their  wealthier  and 
more  favoured  neighbours  never  dream".3 

1  Parochial  Survey  of  Ireland,  vol.  1.  p.  307,  Dublin,  1814. 

2  Ibid.  p.  308. 

3  Mason's  Parochial  Survey,  vol.  1,  p.   314. 


48  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Enough  has  been  given  to  support  the  position  taken  up 
by  O'Donovan,  and  vouched  for  by  McCloskey.  Yet  more 
has  been  said  by  the  Rev.  Alexander  Ross,  who  mentions 
several  "young  mountaineers"  of  his  acquaintance  whose 
knowledge  and  taste  in  the  Latin  poets  might  put  to  blush 
manywho  had  all  the  advantages  of  recognized  schools.  He 
gives  as  a  specimen,  about  seventy  lines  of  a  poetic  translation 
of  the  first  Ode  of  Horace,  translated  by  a  "  young  moun- 
taineer of  Irish  descent"  only  eighteen  years  old,  named  Paul 
MacCloskey  of  Crebarky.'  Ross  mentions  another  "  young 
mountaineer"  named  Bernard  MacCloskey,  who  had  taken 
down  at  his  request  eight  poems  attributed  to  Ossian,  he 
describes  this  second  MacCloskey  as  being  a  good  Latin 
scholar,  and  possessed  of  a  critical  knowledge  of  the  ancient 
Irish  language.  Ross  was  Rector  of  Banagher  and  Dungiven 
from  llth  May,  1810. 

As  the  County  of  Deny  is  one  of  the  Ulster  Counties 
chiefly  planted  with  Scotch  and  English  settlers  by  the 
Irish  Society,  or  Guilds  of  the  City  of  London,  an  exa- 
amination  of  the  statement  of  another  Protestant  clergyman 
the  Rev.  John  Graham,  in  the  Statistics  of  the  parish  of 
Maghera,  will  be  interesting.  He  divides  the  inhabitants  into 
English,  Irish,  and  Scotch.'"  The  English,  among  whom  he 
classes  the  Protestants  (as  distinct  from  the  Scotch,  who  are 
chiefly  Presbyterians),  are  treated  with  respect  and  kindness 
by  both  the  Scotch  and  the  Irish.  The  Scotch  "'have  a 
gravity  and  severity  of  deportment"  that  strongly  contrast 
with  the  lighter  and  more  accommodating  manners  of  their 

1  Ibidem,  pp.  315,  316,  317. 
"  Ibid.  p.  691. 


COLGAN.  49 

Irish  Catholic  neighbours.  Graham  describes  the  duties  that 
were  not  performed  towards  the  education  of  the  people  of 
Maghera  by  the  London  Guilds,  who  received  the  rents,  which 
they  expended  on  Guildhall  feastings ;  and  says  : — ' '  There 
are  sixteen  schools  in  the  parish,  and  the  wretched  men  who 
are  employed  in  the  important  business  of  education  have 
no  encouragement,  except  the  hospitality  of  the  parents  of 
their  pupils.  The  school-houses  are  in  general,  wretched 
huts,  built  of  sods  in  the  highway  ditches,  they  had  neither 
door,  window,  or  chimney".1  This  is  how  some  of  the 
London  companies  contributed  towards  educating  the 
children  of  their  Irish  tenants,  as  told  by  one  of  their  own 
Protestant  clergymen,  A.D.  1814. 

Amidst  all  the  disabilities  the  native  Irish  population 
laboured  under,  literature,  was  still  recognized  and 
respected  among  them.  O'Donovan  has  preserved  in  his 
letters  many  remarkable  instances  of  their  love  of  learning, 
and  has  collected  from  among  the  dwellers  in  these 
mountains  several  examples  of  Latin  hexameters. 


V. 
COLGAX. 

John  Colgan,  who  is  styled  by  O'Donovan  in  his  unpub- 
lished letters  "the  Iberno-leamed  native  of  GlenTochair",2 
has  contributed  to  the  cause  of  Antiquarian  research,  Irish 

1  Ibid,  p.  593. 

2  O'Donovan's  Orel.  Survey  Letters,  R.I. A.,  Raphoe  1  Oct.,  1835. 

7 


50  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Topography,  and  Ecclesiastical  History,  the  greatest  boon 
ever  conferred  on  any  country.  Dr.  Reeves  says  "  that  to 
his  labours  the  Irish  antiquarian  and  ecclesiastical  historian 
are  under  endless  obligations.1 

Colgan  was  born  in  the  year  1592,  2  on  the  lands  attached 
to  the  ancient  church  of  'OorhnAc  mo\\  mtnghe  UodiAi|A» 
as  he  himself  relates  "  In  cujus  et  agro  ego  natus  fui.3 

TDingVie  UocliAip  extended  south  from  where  the  valley 
begins  at  the  base  of  the  Crock-a-veeney  hills  near  Laght- 
na-Cooey,  and  then  extending  north  across  the  parish  of 
Donagh,  on  both  sides  of  the  Glen-Tochair  and  Donagh 
rivers,  to  where  the  united  waters  are  emptied  in  the  sinus 


At  the  date  of  Colgan's  birth,  the  lands  belonging  to  the 
ancient  church  of  Donagh  comprised  three  out  of  fifteen 
quarter  lands  that  were  included  in  the  whole  parish.  We 
have  this  on  the  authority  of  one  of  those  post  mortem 
inquiries  called  Inquisitions,  then  held  so  frequently  in 
Ulster. 

At  an  Inquisition  held  at  Lifford  on  the  liJth  September 
1609,  under  the  pressure  of  such  skilful  experts  as  Chichester 
Lord  Deputy,  Montgomery,  Protestant  Bishop  of  Deny,4 
and  Sir  John  Davis,  Attorney  General,  with  some  Judges 
equally  interested  eighteen  gentlemen,  principally  mem- 
bers of  the  ancient  septs  of  Donegal,  were  collected,  and  a 
"  true  verdict  gave"  in  the  enumeration  of  the  ecclesiastical 

1  Ulster  Journal  Arch.,  vol.  1,  p.  295.  (Belfast,  1853.) 
*  Obituary  notice,  Archives,  Irish  Francisans,  Dublin. 

3  Colgan's,  Trias  Thaum.,  p.  181  and  173. 

4  Knox  had  not  yet  arrived,  he  was  this  year  King's  commissioner  at 
Icolumkille  or  lona. 


COLGAN.  51 

lands,  with  their  distinctive  nomenclature,  as  they  existed, 
and  were  then  known  throughout  the  entire  county. 

In  the  legal  parlance  adopted  by  the  king's  attorney- 
general,  they  found  that  in  the  parish  of  Donagh-Clantagh, 
or  Donagh-Gluine-Tochair,  the  three  quarter  lands  attached 
to  the  ancient  church  of  Donagh  were  named  Carrowtemple, 
Carrick,  and  Carrogh-ne-farne-ballibronaghan,  the  latter 
occupying  the  place  of  Moneyshandowny,  as  it  is  now  called 

Carrogh-ne-fartie-ltaLlibronaghau  was  found  to  be  free  to 
the  ancient  herenagh  of  the  parish,  who  was  then  named 
McColligan  Donill. 

There  were  also  set  apart  two  parts  of  glebe  land,  one  to  the 
vicar,  and  the  other  to  the  keeper  of  the  Saint's  bell,1  as  well 
as  sixty  acres  of  glebe  lands,  the  two  latter  being  a  parcel 
of  the  quarter  land  of  Clonmagee. 

With  a  view  of  locating  these  church  lands,  the  Author 
examined  the  original  maps  of  the  Down  Survey  kindly 
produced  for  inspection  by  the  late  W.  H.  Ilennesy  of 
the  Record  Office  Dublin,  and  a  map  laid  down  about 
1656  by  one  Aeneas  Higgins,  the  individual  who  performed 
on  that  occasion  the  duties  of  surveyer  for  this  portion  of 
Innis-Owen.  From  this  it  would  appear  that  the  gort 
belonging  to  the  keeper  of  the  Saint's  bell  was  isolated 
from  the  other  lands.  It  forms  on  the  Down  Survey  map 
a  kind  of  triangle,  with  its  base  lying  on  the  northern  slope 
next  Traigh-Breige,  a  distance  of  about  eighty-five  perches ; 
the  southern  side  of  the  triangle  measuring  about  seventy- 
wo  perches ;  whilst  the  western  arm  measured  about  forty- 
eight  perches ;  the  whole  is  recorded  as  containing  14a.  lr. 

1  This  ancient  bell  is  in  the  collection  belonging  to  the  R.I.A.,  now 
exhibited  in  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art  Dublin. 


52  INIS-OWEX  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

24p.  of  arable  land.  From  the  N.W.  angle  to  the  margin 
of  Traigh-Breige,  is  a  distance  about  equal  to  that  of  its 
western  side,  it  is  numbered  24  on  the  map,  and  is  called 
'*  part  of  Clonagee".  If  the  position  delineated  on  the 
Down  survey  be  correct,  the  location  of  this  gort  would 
appear  to  have  existed  between  the  present  Glebe  house  and 
Leanamore. 

In  the  index  or  reference  to  the  survey,  the  three  quarter 
lands  of  these  church  lands  are  described  as  containing 
691a.  Or.  32p.  of  arable  and  mountain  pasture. 

It.  is  difficult  to  locate  the  divisions  on  the  present  site 
owing  to  an  almost  total  absence  of  any  well  defined  and 
reliable  points  being  marked  on  the  survey. 

The  best  location  the  Author  can  give  of  the  position 
of  the  691  acres  as  shewn  on  this  survey  would  appear 
to  be  on  the  north,  by  a  slightly  curved  line,  extending 
from  the  boundary  of  Glenmakee,  at  a  point  near  the  summit 
of  the  hill,  opposite  Hilltown,  through  the  northern 
boundary  of  Priest-Town,  to  Cean-na-clng,*  returning  south 
for  a  short  distance  by  the  Glen-na-gannon  river,  crossing 
to  the  Donagh  river  on  the  west,  along  this  river  south  as 
far  as  Ballylosky  bridge.  Then  proceeding  west,  joining 
the  boundary  of  Glenmakee  near  the  rise  of  the  streamlet 
named  Srahan  Sherry.  The  present  church-land  quarters 
contain  5,187  acres,  1  rood,  and  fifteen  perches.  The 
church  lands  of  Donagh  appear  to  have  multiplied  at  least 
one  hundredfold  during  the  Episcopal  land  fever  that 
followed  the  confiscations  in  Ulster. 

1  The  head  of  the  bell,  where  it  has  been  traditionally  stated  the  bell 
now  preserved  in  the  R.I. A.  was  dug  up 


LOUVAIN.  53 

HEEENACHS. 

There  is  no  absolute  proof,  but  it  is  almost  certain  that  it 
was  on  this  quarter  land  of  Carre gh-ne-farne  balhbro- 
naghan,  Colgan  was  born.  Let  us  examine  its  etymological 
signification ;  there  cannot  exist  much  doubt  about  the 
location  of  the  land  of  Carrogli-ne-farne  ballibronaghan- 
owned  in  1609  by  McColligan  Donnell.  The  McColli- 
gans,  in  the  Author's  opinion,  were  a  branch  of  the 
O'Donnells,  rather  than  of  the  O'Dohertys,  and  that  Sir  John 
Davis'  name  for  the  Herenagh  of  the  parish  of  Donagh  was 
intended  to  be  McColgan  O'Donnell,  just  as  in  the  case  of  the 
other  church  lands  in  Innis-Owen,  mentioned  in  the  same  In- 
quisition, he  recorded  the  family  name  of  the  herenaghs,  thus 
the  Herenaghs  of  Fahan.  were  of  the  sept  of  O'Donnell 
MacNeal  O'Donnell,  the  Herenagh  of  Deserteigney  was  the 
MacRuddy ;  the  Herenagh  of  Clonmany  who  owned  the 
third  quarter  of  Dunally  was  Donnogh  O'  Morreesen ;  the 
Herenaghs  of  Cloncae  of  which  there  were  three,  namely, 
O'Harkin,  O'Mullinogher,  and  the  Clan  Loughlins  of  Grel- 
ach;  the  Herenagh  of  Cooldaff  wasO'Dooghie,  or  O'Dufiey 
(O'Dooey),  the  Herenagh  of  Moville  was  Manus  M'Laughlin, 
who  owned  the  quarters  of  Carrowcoley,  then  in  the 
possession  of  Wm.  Linn  and  the  sept  of  the  O'Dohertys. 


VI. 
LOUYAIN. 

Louvain,     a    city    in    Belgium    of  about  thirty-seven 
thousand  inhabitants,  has  been  too  little  known,  too  long 


54  INIS-OWEN   AND   T1RCONNELL. 

forgotten,  and  not  until  the  publication  of  Dr.  French's 
work,  was  Louvain  or  the  Belgian  people  sufficiently  re- 
cognized by  any  of  our  Irish  writers.1  Formerly  there 
was  no  country  in  Europe  with  which  the  Irish  people 
had  been  more  intimately  connected  than  with  Belgium. 
In  every  page  of  history,  military  and  ecclesiastical,  our 
countrymen  have  been  distinguished  alike  for  their  bravery 
piety  and  learning.2  It  was  at  Louvain  the  project  set  on 
foot  by  Florence  Conry,  and  the  accomplishment  of  the 
scheme,  for  founding  the  Irish  College  of  St.  Anthony  of 
Padua  was  carried  into  effect.  An  Irish  writer  addresses 
the  venerable  pile,  "Sacred  Saint  Anthony's!  through 
thy  corridors  and  cloisters,  Ward  and  Colgan  have 
walked  with  O'Clery,  Chief  of  Donegal's  Four  Masters. 
Ah  Louvain,  Louvain,  Ireland  has  been  a  sadly  backward 
debtor  to  thee".3 

The  Collegium  Pastorale  Hibernorum  of  which  Nicholas 
Aylmer  was  first  president,  was  founded  in  Louvain  under 
a  bull  from  Pope  Urban  VIII.,  dated  14th  December, 
1624.4 

The  Irish  Pastoral  or  Secular  College,  just  named,  is  not 
to  be  confounded  with  the  Franciscan  convent  of  St. 
Anthony  of  Padua,  the  most  celebrated  of  the  Irish  Colleges 
of  Louvain. 

M.  Alphonsus  Tilemans,  Professor  and  Librarian  of  the 

1  Samuel  H.  Bindon's  Preface  and  Introduction  to  Irish   Colleges  of 
Louvain,  by  Dr.  French,  Dublin,  (1846.) 

2  Ibidem,  Introduction,  p.  xvii. 

3  Thomas   D*Arcy   M'Gae's    Gallery  of  Irish    Writers,  p.  21,  Dublin 
(January  1846.) 

4  Bindon's  Irish  Colleges  of  Louvain,  p.  xxvi. 


LOUVAIN.  55 

Catholic  University  of  Louvain,  to  whom  we  are  indebted, 
has  recently  furnished  us  with  many  interesting  details, 
extracted  from  historical  works  written  on  the  subject  of 
Louvain  and  the  convent  of  the  Franciscans. 

The  Convent  of  the  Irish  Recollets  was  founded  in  1601, 
through  the  bounty  of  Philip  III.,  King  of  Spain.  The 
church  of  the  convent  was  built  in  1618,  and  the  founda- 
tion stone  laid  on  the  7th  May,  1616,  by  the  Archduke 
Albert  and  his  consort  Isabella  Clara  Eugenia.  A  tablet  of 
grey  marble  bearing  an  inscription  commemmorative  of  the 
event  is  inserted  in  the  wall  of  the  corridor  of  the  Convent. 

A  copy  of  the  Latin  inscription  is  given  by  Bindon  ;  ' 
the  building  was  reconstructed  in  1753.  The  convent 
suppressed  in  January,  17^7,  was  publicly  sold  at  Brussels, 
and  bought  by  Father  Guardian,  who  passed  it  to  the  British 
Missions.  The  "  Freres  de  Charite",  purchased  the  convent 
in  18--52.  M.  Didace,  the  Keverend  Superior  of  the  Order 
at  Louvain,  to  whom  we  are  indebted  for  the  information 
obtained  says;  "  that  at  present  nothing  remains  within 
the  convent  relating  to  the  Ancient  Irish  fathers,  that 
there  exists  not  writing,  book,  or  monumental  slab,  whereby 
to  trace  the  spot  where  rests  the  remains  of  the  Irish 
Franciscans".2 

The  monumental  stones,  that  were  in  the  chapel  of  the 
convent  have  been  for  the  most  part  worn  out  and  piled  up ; 
there  remains  at  present  but  two  or  three,  which  are  to  be 
found  in  the  wall  of  the  corridor.3  It  appears  the  efface- 

1  Bindon's  Introduction  Irish  Colleges  of  Louvain,  p.  Ivii. 

2  M.  Didace's  Letters,  see  Appendix. 

3  M.  Tilenian's  Letter  lltk  January,  1889.     See  Appendix. 


56  INIS-OWEN    AND    TIRCOXNELL. 

ment  foretold  by  Bindon,  of  the  inscriptions  upon  the 
small  tiles  in  the  corridors  has  actually  taken  place,  and  the 
slabs  marking  the  last  resting  place  of  the  following  fathers 
no  longer  exist :  Father  O'Donnell,  who  died  3rd  April,  1714, 
Fr.  Francis  Tully,  loth  March,  1715,  Fr.  Peter  Murphy, 
5th  January,  1730,  Fr.  James  Casey,  14th  October,  1732, 
Fr.  Bonaventure  O'Donnell,  Lector  Jubilatus,  28th  August, 
1784,  Fr.  Simon  O'Reilly,  Librarian  and  Archivist,  26th 
October,  1773,  Fr.  James  Mannin,  15th  October,  1776, 
Fr.  James  Gorman,  1781,  Fr.  Francis  Stuart,  Librarian, 
and  Archivist,  22nd  September,  1783.  Fortunately  these 
few  inscriptions  were  recorded  and  preserved  in  1846. 
Even  at  that  time  Bindon  adds,  "  not  another  line  remains 
which  can  remind  that  Irishmen  once  peopled  these  venera- 
ble walls".1 

Close  by  the  opening  into  the  enclosure  before  the  altar 
of  the  chapel,  underneath  a  large  stone  that  formed  part 
of  the  flooring,  lie  the  remains  of  Dominick  de  Burgo, 
Bishop  of  Elphin,  who  died  January,  1704.  At  the  end 
of  this  there  is  another  slab,  about  seven  feet  in  length 
upon  which  is  an  epitaph  bearing  names  certain  to  awake 
both  sympathy  and  interest  throughout  Inis-own  and  Tir- 
connell. 

The  inscription  is  in  Latin,2  from  which  we  make  the 
following  translation  :  — 

—  To  the  Greater  Glory  of  God — 
Here  Lies  awaiting  the  Resurrection 

1  Bindon'a  Irish   Colleges  of  Louvain  in  Reprint  of  French's   Works, 
pp.  Ixix-lxvii. 

2  Ibidem  p.  ix. 


LOTJVAIN.  57 

D.  0.  M. 

The  Most  Excellent  Lady  Rosa  Docharty, 

Daughter  and  Sister  of  Chiefs   of  Inisowen. 

The  honour  of  her  exalted  race ;  illustrious  by  character 

and  by  her  splendid  alliances. 

She  was  first  married  to  that  eminent  man,  her  kinsman, 
Lord  Cathbar  O'Donnell, 

Chief  of  Tirconnell. 

Subsequently  she  married, 

His  Excellency  Lord  Eugene  O'Neill,1 

Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Catholic  Army  in  Ulster. 

She  experienced  good  and  evil  fortune, 
And  strove  through  her  beneficence  to  become  worthy  of 

Heaven. 
She  was  more  than  seventy  years  when  she  died  in  Brussels, 

1st  November  A.D.  1670. 
This  monument  was  erected  by  her  first-born  son 

Hugh  O'Donnell. 
Here,  her  body  awaits  the  resurrection.11 

Let  us  hope  that  this  is  one  of  Les  pierres  tumulaires 
mentioned  by  M.  Tielemans  that  yet  remain  in  the  convent. 

IN   THE  BANKS. 

Louvain,  during  the  year  1635,  was  the  scene  of  a  gallant 
defence  ;  in  which  our  countrymen  proved  their  title  to  be 
considered  citizens  ;  and  rendered  worthy  service  for  the 
hospitality  they  had  received. 

1  Owen  Roe  O'Neill. 

2  For  Latin  see  original  Historical  Works  of  the  Right  Rev.  Nicholas 
French,  D.D.,  edited  by  Bindon,  p.  lx.,  Dublin,  1846, 

8 


58  INIS-OWEN  AND   T1RCONNELL. 

The  Dutch,  having  joined  France,  decided  to  attempt 
the  subjugation  of  Belgium,  with  a  force  of  over  60,000 
men  under  the  Prince  of  Orange  as  Commander-in-Chief, 
Tirlemont,  a  small  town  was  attacked.  The  besieged  having 
sent  a  flag  of  truce,  had  temporarily  left  the  ramparts,  when 
the  enemy  taking  advantage  of  their  absence,  rushed  in 
and  committed  atrocities  almost  unequalled  in  warfare. 
They  spared  neither  churches  nor  ecclesiastics,  burning  the 
first  and  murdering  the  latter  as  they  stood  at  the  altars. 
For  three  entire  days,  women,  young  and  old,  were  torn  by 
the  hair  in  the  streets,  and  in  the  convents  where  they  fled 
for  shelter.  The  dead  did  not  escape  the  insults  and 
brutality  of  the  soldiery.  On  the  third  day  20th  June, 
1635,  the  inhabitants  of  Louvain  trembled  at  the  approach 
of  this  devastating  army,  that  had  already  committed  similar 
ferocities  between  Brussels  and  Malines.  The  town,  sur- 
rounded on  three  sides  by  slight  eminences  that  commanded 
the  ramparts,  gave  the  enemy  superior  advantages,  and  the 
only  defence  left  to  the  citizens  was  a  few  regiments,  in 
all  about  four  thousand,  as  against  sixty  thousand  in  the 
confederate  army. 

One  of  the  regiments  was  exclusively  Irish,  recently 
formed,1  and  commanded  by  Thomas  Preston,  who  on  this 
occasion  displayed  greater  generalship  than  he  afterwards 
did  at  home  as  Major-general  under  the  Irish  Confedera- 
tion in  1642.2 

The  schoolmen  of  the  University  put  aside  the  pen,  and 
girding  on  the  sword,  enrolled  themselves  into  three 

1  Relatione  Raisonnf  du  Siege  de  Louvain,  p.  6. 
8  Gilbert's  Affairs  in  Ireland,  vol.  1,  part  1,  p.  63. 


LOUVAIN.  59 

cohorts.      The  theological  students  formed  the  first,  the 
graduates  the  second,  and  the  domestics  the  third.1 

The  French,  under  cover  of  their  out- works,  had  ap- 
proached the  "  Porte  de  Bruxelles",  the  post  allotted  to  be 
defended  by  the  Irish.  On  the  26th,  Preston,  collecting 
about  ninety  of  the  pick  of  his  men  under  twelve  sergeants, 
thus  addressed  them—"  It  is  in  vain,  my  countrymen,  that 
we  hold  these  gates  and  entrenchments,  unless  we  present 
an  efficacious  barrier  to  the  enemy,  who  now  approach  us 
by  souterrains,  let  us  drive  him  from  his  retreats,  unless 
we  wish  to  be  driven  from  here  and  upbraided  for  cowardice. 
Have  you  less  courage  than  he?  Don't  believe  he  is  more 
formidable  surrounded  by  earth,  the  more  he  trusts  to  his 
shelter  the  more  easily  is  he  broken  to  pieces,  I  will  be  the 
witness  of  your  courage; — yes,  in  the  midst  of  the  men 
who  now  surround  me".2  The  result  of  that  and  other 
sorties,  caused  the  French  to  abandon  their  trenches,  and 
attempt  to  carry  by  storm  a  demi-lune  erected  by  the 
Jesuits  close  to  the  Irish  station. 

With  three  regiments  they  endeavoured  to  overwhelm  the 
Irish,  but  a  body  of  Germans  with  the  Jesuits,  coming  to 
the  assistance  of  the  Irish,  they  repulsed  the  enemy.3 

Colonel  Eynhout,  in  command  of  the  Germans,  in  de- 
fending another  attack  said — "  Let  us  teach  the  enemy  as 
well  as  the  citizens,  that  Germans  are  as  brave  as  the  Irish". 
On  the  evening  of  the  feast  of  SS.  Peter  and  Paul,  a  sortie 
composed  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  selected  men — Irish, 
Germans,  and  Walloons, — met  at  a  large  tower  named  the 

1  Plot's  Hist,  de  Louvuin,  p.  308. 

2  Relation  du  Siege,  p.  9. 

3  Histoire  de  Louvain,  p.  309. 


60  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

"  Vestooren  Kost",  from  the  top  of  which  the  enemy  could 
be  plainly  noted.  The  result  of  this  brilliant  sortie  caused 
the  French  to  ask  for  a  truce  of  four  hours  to  bury  their 
dead.  The  Prince  of  Orange  enraged,  summoned  the  city 
to  surrender  and  threatened  a  repetition  of  the  massacre  of 
Tirlemont  if  it  delayed,  hoisting  red  flags  as  a  signal  for  "  No 
quarter".  On  the  4th  July,  the  Irish  rushed  out  to  tear  down 
the  despicable  symbols — but  found  the  enemy  had  aban- 
doned the  fort  on  which  they  floated.  The  siege  had  been 
raised. 

The  following  Sunday  the  victorious  defenders  met  in 
solemn  procession  and  religiously  celebrated  their  miracu- 
lous delivery.  The  Recollects  marched  in  two  lines,  the 
one  Belgian,  the  other  Irish.1 

FLORENCE   CONRY. 

To  Florence  Corny,  an  Observantine  Franciscan  Friar, 
afterwards  Archbishop  of  Tuam,  the  credit  of  founding  the 
Irish  College  at  Louvain  is  due.  Sir  James  Ware  says, 
"It  was  at  the  solicitation  of  this  learned  Franciscan  that 
Philip  III  of  Spain  founded  for  the  Irish  a  college  at 
Louvain,  under  the  invocation  of  St.  Antony  of  Padua,  of 
which  the  first  stone  was  laid  by  the  princes  Albert  and 
Isabella,  A.D.  1616,  who  were  at  that  time  governors  of 
Pays-Bas  (Netherlands)".2  Although  the  formal  founding 
of  the  college  did  not  take  place  till  1616,  the  Convent  of 
Louvain  existed  from  1607. 

Father  Conry  was  raised  to  the  Archbishopric  of  Tuam 

1  Bindon's  Irish  Colleges  oj  Louvain,  p.  xxxvi. 

3  Ware's  History  of  Writers  of  Ireland,  edited  by  Walter  Harris,  Book, 
1.  p.  Ill,  Dublin,  1764. 


LOU  VAIN.  61 

in  1609,  he  had  previously  been  pained,  at  the  way  the 
flower  of  the  Irish  youth  destined  for  the  priesthood,  had 
to  subsist  on  the  charity  of  the  convents  of  Spain,  Italy, 
France,  and  Belgium.  Louvain  under  his  paternal  care, 
soon  became  a  celebrated  school  which  has  placed  Ireland 
under  lasting  obligations.  The  community  of  the  college 
comprised  about  forty  brethren,  all  skilled  and  eminent  in 
some  particular  branch  of  literature,  theology,  or  science. 

Archbishop  Corny  died  at  Madrid  (on  the  18th  Novem- 
ber, ]  629,  in  the  59th  year  of  his  age),  where  he  had  been 
held  in  esteem  and  "  greatly  respected  by  the  people  of 
that  country".  The  friars  of  the  Irish  college  at  Louvain, 
A.D.,  1654,  four  years  before  Colgan's  death,  translated  his 
remains  from  Spain  and  erected  a  monument  to  his  memory 
on  the  Gospel  side  of  the  high  altar  of  their  church. 

The  community  of  St.  Antony's,  at  Louvain,  contained 
an  ordinary  number  of  professors, — about  the  middle  of  the 
seventeenth  century  its  personel  consisted  of  about  forty 
brethren— but  at  the  time  of  its  suppression  in  1797,  it 
had  become  reduced  to  about  fifteen  members. 

MEANS. 

The  resources  of  the  convent  were  very  limited.  Parival, 
the  historian  of  Louvain,  writing  in  1667,  says  "  They  lived 
poorly,  and  their  poverty  was  alike  seen  in  their  chapel, 
and  in  their  dress". 

Nevertheless,  as  stated  by  the  Guide  fidele  de  Louvain^ 
"  one  has  not  often  seen,  and  may  not  see  again  (speaking 
of  the  century  past)  among  any  religious  body  such  a 
number  of  persons  of  distinction,  some  of  whom  belonged  to 
the  first  nobility,  who  qualified  themselves  by  their  study 


62  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

and  their  piety,  and  who  went  forth  to  maintain  the  Koman 
Catholic  religion  in  England  and  Ireland,  .  .  .  many  of  them 
have  suffered  all  kinds  of  opprobrium,  imprisonments,  and 
even  the  most  cruel  tortures  for  the  faith".  During  nearly 
a  century  there  existed  an  interdict  against  the  fathers  to 
cause  them  to  quit  Louvain ;  and  the  annual  payment  they 
were  to  receive  from  the  Court  of  Spain  was  never  regu- 
larly received ;  but  frequently,  funds  were  given  to  them 
from  exterior  sources. 

The  years  1686  and  1687,  were  to  them  years  of  parti- 
cular deprivation.  In  the  necrology  of  the  fathers,  and 
of  their  benefactors,  at  present  preserved  in  the  Royal 
Library  at  Brussels  are  to  be  found  the  names  of  their 
principal  benefactors.1  Thus,  in  the  month  of  June,  in  the 
year  1693,  is  recorded  the  death  of  Gertrude  de  Hart  of 
Antwerp,  a  native  of  Holland,  who  had  greatly  relieved 
their  wants  during  the  years  1686  and  1687,  giving  to 
the  college  much  aid,  and  who,  dying  in  June,  1693,  had 
left  them  a  further  considerable  grant,  so  that  this  asylum 
of  Irish  piety  and  science  was  preserved  until  the  time  of 
the  second  invasion  by  the  French  Republic.  Catholics, 
and  Irish  Protestants  of  the  type  of  Reeves  and  Bindon 
have  looked  upon  this  establishment  of  Irish  Franciscans 
at  Louvain  as  one  of  the  glories  of  their  country.  Bindon 
in  his  account  of  the  manuscripts  forming  part  of  the  Bur- 
gundian  Library  at  Brussels,  says,  "  no  Franciscan  college 
has  maintained  with  more  zeal  than  this  the  character  of 
their  order,  as  expressed  in  their  motto — Doctrina  et  Sancti- 
tate"* 

1  Manuscript  numbered  3,944. 

3  Proceedings  E.I. A.  184C-7,  No.  07.  Reference  to  vol.  x.  3,944,  Bur- 
gundian  Library. 


LOU  VAIN.  63 

This  praise  is  in  no  way  exaggerated  ;  it  would  be  easy  to 
justify  it  by  a  glance  at  the  names  of  the  professors  assigned 
to  the  Convent  of  St.  Antony  of  Padua  They  were  in  a 
manner  stimulated  by  their  Belgian  confreres,  and  formed 
at  the  time  of  their  suppression,  one  of  the  most  learned 
corporate  bodies  in  the  Netherlands — on  account  of  their 
learning  they  were  named  the  "  Brown  Jesuits".1 

The  Irish  Franciscans,  before  the  commencement  of  their 
College  at  Louvain  (1601),  had  in  Ireland  about  fifty-eight 
convents.  In  some  localities,  such  as  the  Convent  of  Done- 
gal, they  occupied  their  ancient  dwellings,  while  in  others 
they  dwelt  in  houses  borrowed  or  rented,  but  in  many  in- 
stances, they  were  obliged  to  live  dispersed. 

Their  ancient  monasteries  and  presbyteries  having  been 
absorbed  in  the  confiscations  of  Henry  and  Elizabeth,  they, 
from  having  to  live  on  charity,  became  known  as  the  Friars 
Minors.  Though  the  existence  of  the  Irish  Franciscans, 
at  the  time  we  speak  of,  was  of  so  precarious  a  kind,  they 
had  lost  none  of  their  taste  for  study  and  learning.2 

FATHER   MOONEY. 

Father  Donat  Mooney,  the  provincial,  had  arrived  at 
Louvain  in  1616,  to  organize  the  seminary  of  the  college, 

1  Etudes  Religituses  Hisloriques,  etc.,  par  Victor  de  Buck,  S.J. 

2  For  other  authorities  who  notices  the  Irish  College  of  St.  Anthony 
of  Padua  Louvain,  see  Brennan's  Ecclesiastical  History,  vol.  11,  p.  246, 
Dublin,  1840;  De   Parival's   Louvain,   p.   184;  Van    Gestel's   Historia 
Archiepiscopatus   Mtchliniensis,  /.,  p.  168;   Guide  fidele   de  Louvain,  -p. 
40;  Piot's  Histoire  de  Louvain,  p.  299;  Van  Even's,  Louvain  Monumental, 
p.  260;   Lamerre,  etc.;  Proc.    R.I.A.  (1846-7),  Bindon's   Catalogue  of 
MSS.  Burgundian  Library  Brussels  ;  vol.  x.,  no.  3944. 


64  INIS-OWEtf  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

where  he  employed  his  leisure  time  in  writing  an  abridged 
history  of  all  the  convents  of  his  province.  The  celebrated 
Luke  Wadding  received  a  copy  of  this  history,  the  auto- 
graph manuscript  exists  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  College 
at  Brussels,  it  bears  the  title  "  Tractatum  sequentium  de 
provincia  Hiberniae  concumamt  Rde.  adm.  P.  Donatus 
Monaeus,  dum  esset  provincialis  et  hue  ex  Hibernia  ad  res 
Imjus  Collegii  S.  Antonii  ordinandus  advenisset,  and  is  signed 
by  the  Provincial's  own  signature. 

This  history,  incomplete  though  it  be,  exhibits  wide 
research  and  a  great  knowledge  of  what  passed  in  Ireland, 
as  well  as  a  certain  literary  merit. J 

FATHER  HUGH   WARD.2 

It  is  to  a  Donegal  man  is  due  the  merit  of  conceiving 
the  greatest  project  associated  with  the  Irish  Franciscans  of 
Louvain.  Father  Hugh  Ward — commonly  called  Var- 
deus — set  for  himself  the  task  of  not  only  writing  the 
history  of  his  order  in  Ireland,  but  of  publishing  the  Acts 
of  the  saints  of  his  country,  as  well  as  of  making  a  compila- 
tion of  its  ecclesiastical  antiquities. 

This  eminent  archaeologist  was  born  in  Lettermacaward 
in  ancient  Tirconnell,  now  forming  a  part  of  the  western 
portion  of  the  County  of  Donegal  of  which  his  father, 
Geoffrey  Ward,  was  the  owner,  who  rendered  all  the  aid  in 
hia  power  to  the  princes  of  Tirconnell.  Ballymacaward 
still  bears  the  name  of  this  family. 

1  See  Father  Median's  Rise  and  Fa  II  of  the,  Irish  Franciscan  Monas- 
teries. 

8  There  is  a  notice  of  Fr.  Ward  given  in  E.  P.  O'Sherin's  Life  of  St. 
Rombaud,  in  Brenan's  Eccl.  Hist.  11.  vol.  p.  252  ;  in  Nicholson's  (7r«sA 
Historical  Library},  p.  245,  and  in  several  other  Irish  Biographies,  etc, 


LOUVAIN.  65 

With  Father  Ward  the  aptitude  for  learning  poetry  and 
Celtic  literature  was  an  inheritance  belonging  to  his  family. 
The  name  Ward  is  only  another  form  of  the  word  bApt),  i.e., 
1  a  poet ' ;  it  is  popularly  (and  properly)  given  as  Mac  a' 
Ward,  i.e.,  Son  of  the  Bard.  A  century  before  this  period, 
in  1510,  Owen  Roe  McAnBhaird,  chief  poet  of  Tirconnell, 
died.  In  1583,  Fearghal  Og,  a  celebrated  poet  of  the  name 
died  ;  and  in  1587  Maolmuri,  son  of  Connla  MacAnBhaird 
flourished  ;  he  was  author  of  a  poetic  address  to  Red  Hugh 
O'Donnell  who  was  kidnapped  at  Rathmulleii  during  that 
year  by  Sir  John  Perrot,  who  got  him  carried  in  a  "black- 
hatched,  deceptive"  bark  to  Dublin  Castle,  where  he  was 
cruelly  treated  by  the  English.  The  elegy  of  GogliAn  "Roe 
ITlACAn  bhAi]At>,  on  the  princes  of  Tyrone  and  Tirconnell, 
who  died  at  Rome,  is  best  known  through  Clarence  Mangan's 
beautiful  translation  beginning — ' '  Oh !  Woman  of  the  Pierc- 
ing Wail".  Among  the  traditions  and  inheritance  of  poetry 
and  learning,  Father  Hugh  Ward's  early  youth  was  passed. 
Fr.  Ward  joined  the  brethren  of  St.  Francis  at  Salamanca,1 
where  he  studied  philosophy  and  theology  so  successfully 
as  to  call  forth  the  favourable  judgment  of  one  of  his  con- 
temporaries, P.  Jean  Poncius,  who  enjoyed  at  this  period 
a  reputation  for  science  in  the  Order  of  St.  Francis.  Father 
John  Poncius  was  named  by  Colgan  in  his  letter  to 
Manero  as  the  person  he  considered  first  among  the  order 
best  suited  to  take  charge  of  the  four  Continental  colleges 
belonging  to  the  Franciscans.  This  depth  of  theological 
science  possessed  by  Father  Ward  was  still  further  aug- 
mented during  his  stay  at  Paris  and  Louvain,  where  he 

1  A.D.  1G1G,  Ware's  Writers  of  Ireland,  by  Harris,  Book  1,  p.  114. 

y 


66  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

devoted  his  time  to  study,  so  as  to  enable  himself  to  deliver 
public  lectures  with  facility.  But  the  love  of  his  native 
country  was  even  stronger  with  Father  Ward  than  his 
great  desire  for  scholastic  subtilities.  He  conceived  the 
great  project  of  bringing  together  and  of  publishing  the 
a  cts  of  the  saints  of  his  country. 

Whilst  he  was  at  Paris  as  companion  of  Fr.  Francois 
de  Arriba,  confessor  to  her  most  Christian  Majesty  the 
Queen,  he  had  an  opportunity  of  seeing  the  accumulated 
literary  treasures  then  to  be  found  in  that  great  city. 

Fr.  Patrick  Fleming,  author  of  the  Collectanea  Sacra, 
then  passing  through  Paris  in  1623,  confirmed  Father 
Ward  in  his  design,  and  promised  to  give  him  effective  aid. 
The  following  year  Father  Ward  was  nominated  to  a  chair 
of  theology  at  Paris,  which  suddenly,  for  the  time,  upset 
all  his  projects. 

But  soon  after  he  was  sent  to  the  College  of  St.  Anthony 
at  Louvain,  where  he  filled  at  first  the  position  of  professor 
of  theology,  afterwards  that  of  guardian,  during  which  time 
he  was  again  able  to  resume  his  cherished  studies. 

He  had  visited  in  France  the  libraries  of  Paris,  Kouen, 
Harfleur,  and  Nantes  ;  in  Belgium  he  made  equally  many 
literary  excursions,  and  he  collected  a  real  treasure  of 
historical  documents.  These  were  the  lives  of  the  Irish 
saints,  some  martyrologies  and  synodical  acts  of  the  diocese 
of  Dublin.  So  rich  was  this  harvest  it  was  all  the  more  a 
necessity  to  make  further  researches  in  Ireland. 

Father  Hugh  Ward  died  of  dropsy  at  Louvain  on  the 
8th  November,  1635,  leaving  the  continuation  of  the  great 
work  he  had  projected  to  the  care  of  John  Colgan.  The 
Martyrokgm  he  had  collected  were  left  unpublished,  and 


THE  CONTENTION  OF  THE  BARDS.         67 

only  his  Life  of  St.  Rombaud  has  seen  the  light.1  O'Sherin's 
portraiture  of  Father  Ward  shows  a  man  of  plain  appearance ; 
with  mildness  of  speech,  as  if  "seasoned  with  salt",  of  a 
great  genius,  and  incomparable  life.  His  conversation  was 
mellowed  and  attractive,  strengthened  by  constant  study 
and  literary  research.  His  contact  with  philosophers  and 
theologians  extended  even  the  range  of  his  own  extensive 
knowledge. 


VII. 

THE  CONTENTION  OF  THE  BARDS. 

During  the  time  Father  Ward  was  guardian  at  Louvain, 
a  man  already  advanced  in  life,  who  knew  not  Latin, 
knocked  at  the  gate  of  the  convent,  and  asked  to  be  ad- 
mitted to  wear  the  habit  of  the  order  as  a  lay  brother. 

This  was  Michael  O'Clery.  If  in  the  family  of  the  THac  An 
bliAijvo  literature  was  hereditary,  the  family  of  O'CLeijnjj 
frequently  occupied  the  bardic  chair  of  Tirconnell. 

It  was  "LuJAi-o  O'CleijMJ;,  the  chief  bard  of  Tirconnell, 
who  in  1600,  replied  in  the  great  "  Contention  of  the 
Bards"  to  the  celebrated  poet  UA-OJ;  TflAc  T)Aipe  (the 
chief  poet  of  Donogh  O'Brien),  who  elevated  the  O'Briens 
of  "LeAC  ttloJA  as  descendants  from  Heber  the  elder  over 
the  offspring  of  Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages — as  descendants 
of  the  younger  branches  of  the  Milesians  through  Heremon 
and  Ir. 

O'Clery   advocated  in  verse  the  honour  of  precedence 

1  Dissertatio  historica  de  Sancli  Rvnwldi  pntria,  quam  Biberniam  esse 
Scriptorum  consendu  demonstratur. 


68  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

to  the  descendants  of  Niall,  and  exalted  Torna  Eiges  (a  poet 
of  the  5th  century)  the  preceptor  of  Niall.  Several  of  the 
northern  poets  joined  O'Clery  in  support  of  1/eAC  Ctnnn, 
amongst  others  Father  Robert  McArthur,  a  Franciscan  friar 
of  the  Irish  Convent  of  Louvain.  It  would  appear  that 
O'Clery's  verses  were  considered  "  polished  with  learning 
from  the  schools" — whilst  MacDaire's,  were  "  bald  and  fabu- 
lous". Another  of  the  O'Clerys  (John)  entered  the  list  as  a 
peace-maker,  asking  the  poets  of  Leath  Cuinn  and  Leath 
Mhogha  to  desist  from  their  disputes,  and  leave  Heber  and 
Heremon  alone,  and  combine  to  do  justice  to  IR,  to  whom 
the  bards  were  indebted  for  protection  in  Ulster,  when  they 
were  expelled  from  all  the  other  provinces,  during  the  time 
of  Conor  Mac  Nessa,  who  he  asserts  was  the  first  Irish  Chris- 
tian, John  O'Clery  shews  that  from  the  tribe  of  Ir,  belonged 
the  only  female  that  ever  held  the  reins  of  government  in 
Ireland,  MachaMongruadh,  the  foundress  of  Emania(Ard- 
mach).  This  splendid  poem,  contains  much  real  Irish 
history  portrayed  in  a  setting  of  "  the  most  beautiful 
poetical  flights". ' 

MICHAEL  O'CLERY. 

From  such  surroundings  in  Donegal,  the  lay  brother 
Michael  O'Clery,  arrived  at  Louvain. 

With  the  archaeologist  and  historian,  in  Ireland,  the 
name  of  Michael  O'Clery,  shall  always  be  held  in  the 
highest  esteem.  Born  about  1580  in  Kilbarron  Castle,  Tir- 
connell,  he  became  an  antiquarian  by  profession,  and  passed 
among  his  colleagues  as  one  of  the  most  profound  archaeo- 
logists in  Celtic  literature. 

1  As  stated  by  Boetius  Roe  MacEgan,  who  also  took  part  in  defence  of 
Leath  Cuinn.     O'Reilly's  Irish  Writers,  p.  civ.,  Dublin,  1820. 


MICHAEL   O'CLERV.  69 

Father  Ward  demanded  from  the  superiors  O'Clery's 
assistance,  which  they  readily  granted.  Ward  soon  dis- 
covered that  this  new  associate  would  be  of  more  service 
to  him  in  Ireland,  than  in  Belgium.  The  superiors  of 
Louvain  were  of  the  same  opinion,  and  they  instructed 
their  antiquarian  brother  to  proceed  into  his  own  country; 
to  search  out  and  transcribe  the  lives  of  the  saints,  and  any 
other  ancient  ecclesiastical  documents  that  he  would  be 
able  to  discover  ;  as  a  large  number  of  records  of  the  past, 
were  known  to  have  fomerly  existed  in  Ireland.  No  one 
could  be  better  adapted  for  the  duty  than  Brother  Michael 
O'Clery.  He  dedicated  nearly  fifteen  years  of  his  life  to 
this  work,  during  which  time  he  copied  many  lives,  three 
or  four  martyrologies,  as  well  as  a  considerable  number  of 
other  manuscripts,  which  he  sent  to  Father  Ward. 

During  the  excursions  made  by  this  learned  brother, 
through  the  most  desolate  by-ways  of  his  country,  he  con- 
ceived the  noble  project  of  bringing  together  into  one  vast 
methodical  collection,  the  scattered  remnants  of  the  whole 
ecclesiastical  and  civil  history  of  Ireland. 

On  his  return^to  the  Convent  of  Donegal  in  1632  (where 
Father  Bernard 'O'Clery  was  guardian),  he  compiled  three 
historical  works.  The  first,  containing  a  list  of  the  kino-s 

O  O 

of  Ireland;  showing  the  number  of  years  each  reigned, 
their  genealogical  descent,  the  date  and  the  manner  of  their 
death.  The  second — the  genealogies  of  the  Irish  saints, 
arranged  in  thirty-seven  branches.  The  third,  a  history 
of  the  first  inhabitants  of  the  country  since  278  years  after 
the  arrival  of  Ceasair,  the  daughter  of  Bith,  son  of  Noah, 
who  with  her  band  of  antediluvians  had  only  arrived  in 
Ireland  forty  days  before. the  Deluge,  thus  commencing 


70  INIS-OWES  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

with  the  invasion  of  Partholan,  or  the  year  of  the  world, 
2520.  This  he  continued  down  to  the  year  1171  of  the 
Christian  Era,  in  which  he  recites  the  great  national  revolu- 
tions, the  succession  of  kings,  their  combats,  conquests, 
treaties,  and  all  other  events  of  public  importance,  a  work 
known  under  the  name  of  the  "UieAbhApsAbliAlA,  or  Book 
of  Invasions.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  this  precious 
volume,  an  autograph  copy  of  which  is  at  present  in  the 
Library  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  in  all  the  beauty  of 
its  original  Irish  caligraphy,  remains  untranslated.1 

The  writers  of  the  first  work  were  Michael  O'Clery  ; 
TDAUfnce  rtiAc  UoptiA  O'TTlAo1cotiAijAe,  who  attended  one 
month  ;  "pejipeAf  A  ITIAC  LoghtAin  O'tTlAolconAipe,  both  of 
the  County  of  Roscommon;  CucoigciMghe  O'Cle^Aigli,  of 
Tirconnell ;  Cucoi^cinghe  O'^uigenAti,  of  County  Ros- 
common, and  CotiAijie  O'CtejiAigh,  of  Tirconnell. 

In  1635,  the  second  book  was  begun,  when  Father  Christo- 
pher Dunlevy  (surnamed)  tltcAch,  was  guardian  of  the 
Convent  of  Donegal,  the  writers  were  Michael  O'Clery 
(Michael  was  his  name  in  religion,  being  baptized  Tadgh, 
and  known  as  Tadgh-ant-Sleibhe,  or  Teige  o/the  mountain). 
Cuchory  O'Clery,  and  Conor  O'Clery.  These  writers 
collectively,  compiled  the  Leabhar  Gabhala,  the  Reim 
Rioghraidhj  or  Regal  Catalogue,  and  a  Genealogy  of  the 
Saints  of  Ireland.* 

'  Note — Lizeray,  who,  with  the  late  William  O'Dwyer,  rendered  this 
work  into  French,  thus  expresses  his  astonishment.  "  C'est  merveille  que 
cet  ouvrage,  dont  1'importance  depasse  celle  dcs  Annales  d'Irlande,  n'ait 
pas  deja  tente  un  traducteur".  Preface  Livre  des  Invasions,  p.  xix,  Paris, 
1884.  2  See  O'Curry's  Lectures,  p.  1C8. 

The  Author  has  made  a  transcript  of  the  Leabhar  Gabhala  with  the 
hope  of  its  being  translated  at  some  future  time  hy  some  Celtic  scholar  of 
Donegal, 


VIII. 
COLGAN  AT  LOUVAIN. 

On  his  admission  into  the  Order  of  St.  Francis,  Colgan 
studied  theology  in  the  College  of  St.  Anthony  at  Louvain, 
partly  under  the  teaching  of  Thomas  Fleming,  who  was 
promoted  to  the  Archiepiscopal  See  of  Dublin  towards  the 
end  of  October,  1623. 

Colgan's  progress  soon  obtained  for  him  the  distinction 
of  lecturer  in  theology,  and  had  the  duty  imposed  on  him 
by  his  superiors  of  teaching  philosophy  to  the  younger 
brethren,  which  he  taught  assiduously  for  three  successive 
years. 

He  acquitted  himself  in  his  professorship  in  so  distin- 
guished a  manner,  that  he  was  promoted  to  the  chair  of 
scholastic  theology,  a  chair  distinct  from  that  of  ordinary 
theology,  a  distinction  conferred  only  every  three  years  on 
two  members  of  the  province.  In  the  public  thesis  which 
he  caused  to  be  held  by  the  students  he  early  shewed 
that  distinguishing  characteristic  that  so  marked  his  whole 
career  and  writings,  i.e.,  a  great  love  of  truth.  Dr.  Reeves, 
quoting  Colgan's  own  words  on  this  subject  of  truth,  says, 
they  are  worthy  to  be  recorded  in  gold.  Here  is  a  transla- 
tion of  the  quotation  used  by  Dr.  Reeves  :' — "  Two  things 
have  chiefly  prevented  these  facts  from  being  related  in  a 
more  elegant  style,  over  and  above  our  own  slender  ability. 
The  first  is  that  when  the  acts  of  the  saints,  those  wonder- 
ful and  great  deeds,  were  expressed  by  ancient  writers  in  a 
simple  style,  frequently  but  litttle  heeding  the  rules  of 

U.J.A.,  vol.  1,  p.  WJ. 


72  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIKCONNELL. 

Latin — I  concluded  that  it  was  better  to  give  their  exact 
words,  though  in  doing  this,  for  the  sake  of  truth,  the  laws 
of  grammar  were  frequently  violated,  rather  than  by  a 
little  unworthy  traffic — changing  their  style  into  better 
Latin — adopting  the  mode  of  expression  used  by  those 
writers  whose  era  was  nearer  to  the  date  of  the  events  they 
recorded — so  that  thereby  a  closer  relation  to  the  truth 
might,  at  the  expense  of  style,  be  obtained.  In  all  these 
things  1  have  used  the  submitted  testimony  and  words  of 
the  writers  themselves  ;  in  order  that  my  work  (or  book) 
may  be  a  faithful  record,  I  have  neither  added  to  or  taken 
away  what  has  been  accumulated  and  assorted,  lest,  indeed, 
any  person,  perchance,  might  believe  I  had  added  things 
unknown  to  the  people  of  former  times". 

His  subsequent  relations  with  the  professors  of  the 
seminaries  of  the  Jesuits  prove  that  he  was  not  more  par- 
tizan  than  the  Belgian  Eecollects  on  the  then  recently  for- 
mulated opinions  upon  Grace.1 

COLGAN'S  APPLICATION. 

Colgan  filled  his  position  with  the  greatest  satisfaction 
for  the  term  of  twelve  years,  the  time  required  to  enable 
him  to  receive  the  distinction  of  Lector  Jubilatus.  We 
find  him  in  possession  of  this  honourable  title  about  the 
13th  of  September,  1643,  although  he  may  have  held  it 
for  some  time  previously.  Once  raised  to  this  distinctive 
honour,  he  found  himself  discharged  from  the  routine  ot 
allotted  work,  and  he  was  in  consequence  enabled  to  devote 
himself  entirely  to  the  preparation  for  publication  of  the 

great  work  projected  by  Father  Hugh  Ward. 

/ 
1  Eludes,  etc.,  chap.  111.,  par  Victor  de  Buck,  S.J. 


COLGAN  AT   LOUVAIN.  73 

Having  had  up  to  this  time,  but  three  months'  annual 
vacation  from  his  collegiate  duties,  in  addition  to  the  short 
hours  allowed  him  in  the  intervals  of  his  daily  work,  he 
set  apart  his  vacation  for  visiting  the  libraries  of  Louvain, 
and  those  of  the  other  cities  in  Belgium,  there  searching 
out  and  transcribing  material  for  the  lives  of  the  saints. 

He  had  access  to  the  literary  collection  formed  by 
Kosweydus,  already  cultivated  by  Bollandus  and  his  assis- 
tant Henschenius.1  Colgan's  work  was  incessant,  the  time  he 
could  not  find  during  the  day  he  abstracted  from  the  night, 
and  this  at  the  risk  of  endangering  his  health.  Meanwhile, 
the  documents  collected  by  Fathers  Ward  and  Fleming 
were  so  numerous,  that  his  chief  difficulty  lay  in 
selecting  what  he  most  required.  It  was  first  necessary  to 
place  every  document  in  order  so  as  to  be  able  to  dis- 
tinguish the  saints  they  referred  to,  their  times  and  their 
places,  where  they  had  laboured  and  grown  old,  and  to 
clear  up  the  innumerable  difficulties  with  which  these  par- 
ticulars bristled.  This  task  demanded  the  application  of  a 
superior  mind,  an  unruffled  and  retentive  memory,  and  an 
intelligence  of  a  high  order. 

Ward  had  not  even  commenced  this  work.  The  copies 
of  the  ancient  Annals  of  Ireland,  and  more  especially  the 
Annals  of  the  Pour  Masters,  that  Brother  O'Clery  had  re- 
cently sent  to  Louvain,  aided  Colgan  in  a  singular  manner, 
they  helped  him  to  clear  up  the  chronological  obscurities  in 

'  The  term  "  Bollandists"  is  applied  in  literary  history  to  a  certain 
number  of  Jesuits  of  Antwerp,  who  collected,  .and  edited  the  acts  of  the 
Saints.  The  name  is  derived  from  Father  Bollandus,  one  of  the  early 
chiefs  of  the  association,  though  Father  Heribert  Rosweide  laid  the  design 
in  the  beginning  of  the  17th  Century. 

10 


74  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

which  much  of  the  material  at  his  disposal  was  involved. 
The  genealogical  devolution  of  the  saints  he  had  furnished 
by  the  same  archaeologist.  Chief  among  several  other  Mar- 
tyrologies,  that  known  as  the  Martyrologium  Dungallense, 
or,  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal  was  the  most  detailed  and 
complete.1  Colgan's  chief  want  was  good  geographical 
maps  of  the  Irish  dioceses. 

TOPOGRAPHICAL   DIFFICULTIES. 

The  Down  Survey,  made  in  1656,  was  not  available  to 
Colgan.  A  study  of  this  work  carried  out  by  numerous 
surveying  experts,  called  to  aid  Sir  William  Petty,  to 
whom  the  production  of  that  survey  was  intrusted,  will 
afford  a  convincing  proof,  by  the  paucity  of  its  results, 
of  how  much  Colgan  suffered  from  want  of  materials  in  this 
department. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  skeleton  map  sketched 
by  hand  now  in  MSS.  in  the  Library  of  Brussels,  produced 
perhaps  from  Colgan's  memory,  could  be  anything  but  an 
incomplete  record.  Colgan  addressed  himself  in  vain  to 
the  bishops  and  others  for  copies  of  the  registers,  rarely 
receiving  any  information. 

Victor  de  Buck2  points  out  the  difficulty  that  Colgan  ex- 
perienced as  to  the  registers  arose  chiefly  from  the  Protes- 
tant bishops,  having  snatched  up  all  the  episcopal  livings, 
and  having  seized  a  part  of  the  benefices.  Therefore,  it 

1  Martyrologium  Dungallense  seu    Cahndarium   Sanctorum  fliberniae. 
Collegit  et  Digtssit,  Fr.  Michael  O'Clery,  1C30. 

2  Etudes    Religieuses    Historiques    (L'archeologie    Irlandaise)     par. 
Victor  de  Buck. 


COLGAN  AT  LOUVAIN.  75 

rested  with  them  above  all  things  to  know  the  extent  of  their 
jurisdiction,  through  means  of  the  registers.  To  become 
the  possessors  of  these  documents  was  to  them  of  primary 
importance. 

The  registers  he  received  from  the  Bishop  of  Lismore, 
had  been  compiled  by  that  prelate  himself,  magna  industria 
collectum.  How  has  it  come  to  pass,  nevertheless,  that 
Colgan  was  able  to  indicate  the  position  of  so  many  small 
and  obscure  localities,  his  topographical  knowledge  of  so 
many  rivulets,  lakes,  mountains,  abbeys,  churches,  and 
chapels  ?  It  is  simply  incomprehensible.  Although  Colgan 
may  have  been  unable  to  explain  the  exact  topography  in 
some  instances,  O'Donovan,  our  greatest  modern  Irish  topo- 
graphist,  frequently  takes  him  as  his  deciding  authority  in 
matters  of  doubt,  the  instances  where  he  adopts  Colgan's 
rendering  of  ancient  boundaries  are  numerous.1 

APPKOBATION. 

Even  before  the  appearance  of  the  Bollandist's  volumes, 
and  as  early  as  1639,  Colgan  had  advanced  his  work  at  the 
expense  of  his  entire  annual  holidays. 

The  General  of  his  order,  Jean  Merinero,  wrote  to  Colgan 
on  the  12th  October  of  that  year,  having  learned  that  for 
some  years  lie  had  given  his  attention  to  writing  the  lives  of 
the  Irish  saints  and  the  antiquities  of  his  country,  and 
knowing  of  his  extensive  learning,  he  had  no  doubt  but  his 

1  In  one  of  his  unpublished  letters  to  Hardiman,  ODonovan  says  : — "  I 
have  latterly  become  a  regular  topographical  vagabond,  and  am  doing  very 
ittle  good  for  myself,  excepting  that  I,who  was  a  delicate  little  fellow  about 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago,  am  now  a  hardy  rascal,  capable  of  becoming  a 
rebel,  a  galloglach,  or  a  ceithernach-coille"  (i.e.,  a  wood  kerne,  or  foot- 
soldier.)  This  letter  is  dated  Tuam,  September  3rd,  1838. 


76  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

work  would  serve  to  the  glory  of  God  and  the*  honour  of 
Ireland.  Consequently  he  gave  the  necessary  permission  to 
have  the  manuscripts  examined  by  the  theologians  of  the 
order,  and  on  conforming  to  the  ordinary  laws  of  approba- 
tion, ordered  its  publication.  But  Colgan,  who  knew  all 
the  difficulties,  as  well  as  what  he  was  pleased  to  call  the 
weak  parts  of  his  work,  was  less  anxious  than  were  his 
superiors  to  proceed  with  the  publications.  His  programme 
comprised  six  volumes  in  folio.  The  first  was  to  contain 
generalities,  i.e. — A  treatise  on  the  topography  of  Ireland; 
the  propagation  and  preservation  of  the  faith ;  her  numerous 
saints  and  missionaries,  and  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  anti- 
quities of  his  country. 

The  second  volume,  he  set  apart  for  the  lives  of  the 
three  most  celebrated  Irish  saints,  Patrick,  Bridget,  and 
Columkille. 

The  four  following  volumes  were  intended  for  the  lives 
of  the  saints,  arranged  in  four  divisions  of  three  months  to 
each  division.  All  this  was  far  from  being  accomplished  at 
the  time  of  his  death.  The  first  volume  was  never  but 
roughly  sketched. 

FELLOW-WORKERS. 

With  the  date  of  Colgan's  elevation  to  the  position  ot 
Lector  Jiibilatus  arrived  the  time  for  putting  his  plan  into 
operation.  On  this  work  several  of  his  brethren  rendered 
him  aid.  Father  Brendan  O'Connor,  not  satisfied  with 
having  procured  the  records  of  several  lives,  which  he  had 
transcribed  in  the  libraries  of  Italy  and  France,  gave  Colgan 
unremitting  assistance  for  some  years,  and  his  zeal  for  the 
furtherance  of  the  general  work  did  not  cease  even  after 


COLGAN  AT  LOU  VAIN.  77 

his  departure  for  Ireland.  In  the  midst  of  the  wars  of  the 
Confederation,  we  find  him  searching  for  all  documents  he 
could  trace,  so  as  to  throw  more  light  on  the  subject. 

In  the  necrology  of  the  college,  we  find  the  name  of 
another  of  Colgan's  assistants,  a  name  not  yet  extinguished 
an  the  old  peninsula  of  Inis-Owen,  and  one  that  is  likely  to 
be  found  flourishing  there  luxuriantly  even  at  the  advent 
of  Macauley's  "  New  Zealander".  We  read  there  of  the 
death  at  Louvain,  on  the  29th  August,  1680,  of  Fr.  Bona- 
venture  O'Doherty,  a  very  religious  man,  who,  under  the 
guidance  of  Father  Colgan  till  his  death  in  1658,  and  that 
of  Father  O'Sherrin,  till  the  latter's  decease  in  1673,  was  an 
indefatigable  transcriber  of  the  lives  of  the  saints.  Thus 
we  see  Inis-Owen  represented  in  a  dual  personality  on  that 
great  work,  that  has  ever  since  commanded  the  respect  of 
European  scholars. 

Louvain,  under  the  guidance  of  Colgan  became  the 
thesaurus  in  which  were  deposited  all  the  chief  Irish 
archaeological  and  hagiological  collections  of  the  seventeenth 
century  that  could  be  procured  at  home  or  abroad.  An 
Ulster  name  (though  not  a  native  of  Donegal)  cannot  be 
passed  over,  that  of  Fr.  Edmund  McKenna,  author  of  the 
Itinerarium  Hiberniae,1  and  a  "  Description  of  the  Island  of 
Sanda"  in  Scotland,  compilations  of  antiquarian  interest  he 
had  made  during  his  travels,  these  he  brought  to  the 

O  *  O 

brethren  of  Louvain,  whence  they  passed  to  the  Royal 
Library  of  Brussels.  The  Itinerarium  has  been  com- 
mented on  at  length  by  Dr.  Reeves,2  who  has  made  some 
researches  into  the  family  name  ofMaccana.  Seagoe  in  the 

1  MS.  No.  5,307,  Bibliothcque  Eoyale,  Brussels. 
-  Ulster  Journal  of  Archaeology,  vol.  ii  pp.  45-66. 


78  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

County  of  Down  would  appear  to  be  the  location  of  the 
family  of  McKenna. 

Father  McKenna  was  for  thirty  years  a  missionary  priest 
in  Scotland,  and  died  at  Louvain  5th  February,  1652, 
leaving  the  reputation  of  a  very  learned  man  in  the  know- 
ledge  of  the  antiquities  of  his  country. 

Colgan  had  now  become  acquainted  with  all  the  docu- 
ments collected  at  Louvain  from  every  quarter,  "  having 
more  materials  before  him  than  any  man  who  wrote  since".1 
towards  the  end  of  1643  he  had  three  volumes  more  or  less 
ready  for  publication,  i.e.,  the  Triadis  Thaumaturgae,  with 
the  first  and  second  tri-monthly  divisions  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Saints. 

The  division  embracing  the  first  three  months  of  the 
year  was  by  far  the  most  advanced.  This  work  contain- 
ing nine  hundred  and  six  pages,  including  the  indices,  but 
without  the  preliminaries,  was  completed  in  the  month  of 
June,  1645,  and  appeared  under  the  title  Acta  sanctorum 
veteris  et  majoris  Scotiae,  seu  Hiberniae,  sanctorum  insulae, 
per  Joannem  Colganum,  etc.,  etc.2  The  volume  is  dedicated 
to  Hugh  O'Reilly,  Primate  of  all  Ireland  and  Archbishop 
of  Armasrh. 


IX. 
COLGAN'S  WORKS. 

It  was  from  the  generous  aid  supplied  by  the  confi- 
dence and  attachment  of  Irish  Catholics  to  the  Primatial 

1  O'Donovan's  MSS.  Survey  Letters,  R.  I.  A.  Pettigo,  Oct.  28ih,  1835. 

2  For  title-page  see  the  Acta  Sanctorum,  or  Gilbert's  National  Manu- 
script's of  Ireland,  p.  315,  London,  1884. 


COLGAN'S  WOKKS.  79 

See  of  Ireland,  that  Archbishop  Hugh  O'Reilly  was  en- 
abled to  assist  Colgan  to  put  his  works  to  the  press. 

The  Archbishop,  by  oft  repeated  references,  encouraged 
the  Catholics  of  Ireland  to  collect  the  manuscript  materials 
of  the  History  of  Ireland,  that  were  scattered  in  secluded 
places  throughout  the  country.  By  this  means  the  MSS. 
were  placed  within  reach, -and  capable  of  being  submitted 
to  the  crucible  of  criticism.  Dr.  O'Reilly's  noble  example 
inspired  others  to  become  generous,  and,  thanks  to  the  com- 
bined activity  of  prelate,  priest,  and  people,  Colgan  soon 
found  himself  in  a  position  to  publish  his  first  volume.  The 
Triadis  Thaumaturgae,  was  completed  towards  the  end  of 
August  1647.  This  volume  has  the  following  title  : — 
Triadis  Thaumaturgae,  sen  divorum  Patricii,  Columbae,  et 
JBrigidae,  trium  veteris  et  majoris  Scotiae,  sen  Ifiberniae, 
sanctorum  insulae  communium  patronorum,  Acta,  etc. 

The  Trias  Thaumaturgae,  without  the  preliminaries,  but 
including  the  index,  comprises  740  pages.  Colgan  dedi- 
cated this  work  to  his  old  professor  Thomas  Fleming, 
Archbishop  of  Dublin.  This  was  in  the  midst  of  the  strug- 
gle and  disagreements  of  the  Confederation.  Arch- 
bishop Fleming  who  remained  steadfast  to  the  policy  of 
Rinuccini  the  Papal  Legate,  had  no  fixed  abode  in  Ire- 
land, and  dwelt  at  a  distance  from  his  diocese.  The  date 
of  Fleming's  death  has  not  been  stated  exactly,  but  it 
would  appear  to  have  taken  place  sometime  in  1.656. 

In  spite  of  the  sacrifices  which  his  removal  from  the 
country  occasioned,  and  above  all  the  support  he  gave  to 
the  army  and  in  part  to  the  Government  of  the  Confedera- 
tion, Archbishop  Fleming  found  the  means  to  defray  the 
cost  of  the  publication  of  the  Trias  Thaumaturgae. 


80  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Colgan  celebrates  this  good  deed  in  the  fullest  tones  of 
gratitude,  without  saying  one  word  approvingly  about  the 
Archbishop's  political  adherence,  nowhere  does  he  allow 
it  to  be  understood  whether  he  was  himself  on  the  side  of 
Rinuccinni,  or  on  that  of  the  Supreme  Council.  His 
brethren  in  Ireland  were  not  all  of  one  way  of  thinking 
during  this  grave  conflict  of  opinion ;  they,  by  their  strong 
national  feelings  for  the  vindication  of  their  ancient  laws 
doubtless,  caused  many  tribulations  to  the  then  Commissary- 
General  of  the  Order,  P.  Marchant. 

Colgan,  engrossed  in  his  lives  of  the  saints,  would  appear 
to  have  held  himself  aloof  from  these  divisions.1 

THE   SCOURGE   OF  CROMWELL. 

The  Confederation  commenced  in  1642,  was  dissolved 
at  the  death  of  King  Charles,  who  fell  by  the  hands  of  the 
public  executioner  on  30th  January,  1649.  Soon  Cromwell 
spread  fire  and  sword  throughout  all  Ireland,  transporting 
the  Catholic  population  en  masse.  He  passed  over  the  land 
like  a  fiery  meteor,  leaving  behind  in  the  ruins  he  created 
the  unextinguished  sparks  of  his  own  fanatical  hatred. 
The  bishops  found  refuge  only  on  the  Continent :  the  lot  of 
the  priests  and  other  religious  was  exposed  to  greater 
danger.  Those  among  them  who  remained  in  the  country, 
were  compelled  to  disguise  themselves  as  herds,  and  to 
live  on  the  milk  of  the  cows  they  herded  ;  concealed  in 
the  midst  of  morasses,  the  fastnesses  of  the  mountains,  or 
among  the  inaccessible  steeps  of  the  hills.  Literary  pur- 
suits, and  pecuniary  help  were  no  longer  available  ;  they 

/ 
Etudes,  etc.,  chap.  iv. 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  81 

were  only  too  happy  if  they  escaped  the  searches  of  the  Pro- 
tector's spies,  and  the  swords  of  his  armed  banditti.  After 
such  a  revolution,  Colgan  could  no  longer  hope  for  means 
to  enable  him  to  continue  his  publications.  Hence  the 
second  division  of  the  sacred  antiquities  of  his  country, 
though  ready  for  publication,  unfortunately,  never  saw  the 
light. ' 

LOST   MANUSCRIPTS. 

Colgan  left  besides  three  volumes  of  documents  in  folio, 
containing,  respectively,  852,  1063,  and  920  pages.  They 
are  carefully  described  so  far  as  it  is  possible  to  do  so,  with 
examples  and  fac-similes,  by  J.  F.  Gilbert,  in  his  valuable 
account  of  the  manuscripts  transferred  from  the  Franciscan 
Convent  of  St.  Isidore  at  Home,  to  the  library  of  the  Fran- 
ciscan Convent  in  Dublin.2  Some  have  been  found  in  the 
Royal  Library  at  Brussels ;  many  searches  have  been  made 
to  discover  the  remainder,  but  in  vain.  At  Louvain  there 
only  exists  a  vague  recollection  of  the  sale  of  the  articles 
found  in  the  College  of  St.  Anthony  after  the  departure 
of  the  Irish  fathers.  It  is  to  be  earnestly  hoped  that  the 
treasures  amassed  with  so  much  labour  and  care  by  Ward, 
Colgan,  and  O'Clery,  have  not  been  irretrievably  lost. 
D'Arcy  McGee, 3  says: — "There  is  a  moral  in  the  lives 
of  these  men  which  the  reader  will  not  fail  to  cherish.  It 
preaches  in  a  voice  which  cannot  be  unheard,  that  no  man, 
however  humble,  need  despair  of  serving  Ireland".  These 
exiled  Donegal  friars,  unpensioned,  unpatronized,  without 

1  Ibid,  chap.  T. 

2  Gilbert's  National  MSS.  of  Ireland,  London,  1884. 

3  Irish  Writers,  llth  century,  p.  71. 

11 


82  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

hope  of  worldy  gain,  entered  on  their  arduous  task,  and 
persevered  in  its  prosecution  until  death. 

Excess  of  work  had  injured  the  health  of  the  Inis-Owen 
hagiographer,  but,  like  most  men  imbued  with  a  love  of 
duty,  it  was  impossible  that  he  could  remain  inactive. 
Having  taught  for  over  twelve  years  the  doctrines  of  Duns 
Scotus,  that  theological  oracle  of  the  Franciscan  School, 
Colgan  again  returned  to  his  cherished  author,  and  wrote 
the  Tractatus  de  Vita,  Patria,  Scriptis,  Johannis  Scoti,  Doc- 
toris  Subtilis,  which  he  published  at  Antwerp  in  1655. 

The  compilation  of  the  life  of  the  Seraphic  Doctor  at- 
tracted the  profound  mind  of  Colgan,  and  with  its  publica- 
tion it  may  be  said  his  literary  career  was  closed. 

A  STUDY. 

It  is  necessary  for  the  student  of  Colgan's  works  to  be 
possessed  of  some  general  knowledge  of  the  ancient,  civil, 
political,  and  ecclesiastical  organization  of  Ireland.  One 
must  not  be  a  stranger  to  the  dynasties  of  her  kings,  her 
chief  families,  and  above  all,  of  her  ancient  and  modern 
topography.  At  least,  the  student  should  avail  himself  of 
the  best  topographical  works.  A  study  of  the  town-land 
survey  of  Ireland,  made  by  the  Ordnance  Surveyors,  with 
the  names  rendered  into  modern  orthographical  equiva- 
lents, by  O'Donovan,  will  best  explain  the  difficulties 
that  Colgan  surmounted.  Towards  the  middle  of  the  seven- 
teenth century,  Colgan  was  almost  alone  in  possession  of 
this  essential  knowledge. 

Even  at  present,  with  the  aid  of  lithographed  maps,  and 
descriptive  references  at  our  disposal,  Colgan's  works  topo- 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  83 

graphically  are  more  or  less  difficult  to  the  antiquarian 
student.  Invaluable  assistance  has  been  rendered  by 
O'Donovan,  the  great  restorer  of  Irish  topography,  through 
the  aid  of  his  notes  to  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  as 
well  as  by  his  unpublished  manuscript  letters,  now  in  the 
Library  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy.  Canon  O'Hanlon, 
with  as  much  zeal  as  that  of  a  seventeenth  century  worker, 
in  his  great  and  still  progressing  work,  has  thrown  much 
light  on  localities  mentioned  by  Colgan.1  Competent  critics, 
with  a  loving  tenderness  for  Colgan's  fame,  do  not  find  fault 
with  either  the  order  or  method  of  his  arrangement.  The 
Acta  Sanctorum  is  provided  with  nine  different  tables  or 
indexes,  and  the  'frias  has  six  of  a  similar  kind.  Indeed, 
the  particularity  and  neatness  displayed  by  Colgan  in  their 
arrangement  is  observable  in  Gilbert's  facsimile  of  one  of 
his  indexes.2 

VALUE. 

The  difficulty  of  appreciation  appears  to  consist  in  the 
depth,  the  quantity  and  variety  of  detail,  and  the  entire  fresh- 
ness of  the  matter.  Almost  everything  found  in  Colgan's 
volumes  had  never  been  previously  published.  Victor  Van 
Buck  says  "  one  could  have  read  all  Baronius3  without 
having  the  least  notion  of  the  new  world  that  Colgan  was 
revealing,  although  not  in  ignorance  that  Ireland  had  for- 
merly received,  by  universal  consent,  the  title  of  the  Island 
of  Saints — through  a  knowledge  of  the  lives  of  her  principal 

1  Lives  of  the  Irish  Saints,  by  Canon  O'Hanlon,  P.P.,  M.R.I.  A. 

2  See  Gilbert's  facsimiles  of  National  Manuscripts. 

3  Baronius,  author  of  the  Annales  Ecclesiaslici,  Cardinal  and  Historian 
born  at  Naples,  31st  October,  1538,  died  at  Rome,  30th  June,  1607. 


84  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

patrons— yet,  who  knew  that  the  Irish  could  place  in  their 
martyrologies  on  an  average  a  decade  of  saints  per  day  ? 
Who  knew  that  St.  Aengus  the  Culdee,  an  author  of  the 
eighth  century,  enumerated  as  many  as  two  hundred  St. 
Colmans,  all  distinct  in  genealogy,  abode,  and  date? 
Before  Colgan's  publications,  almost  all  these  had  been 
unknown,  which  only  the  researches  instituted  by  Ward, 
and  perfected  by  Colgan,  has  brought  to  light.  Even  at 
the  present  day  how  many  persons  of  education,  without 
Colgan's  aid,  would  know  the  names,  the  localities,  or  the 
dates  of  the  Lasreans,  Dicuils,  Brendans,  Konans,  Fillians, 
Kiernans,  Ultans,  et  hoc  genus  omne,  that  fill  the  pages  of 
his  Ada  Sanctorum  Hiberniae  P"1 

IRISH   SENTIMENT. 

Indifference,  suspicion,  and  even  ridicule,  awaited  the 
appearance  of  Colgan's  researches.  He  himself  feared  that 
his  own  unexhausted  list,  might  excite  doubt  and  astonish- 
ment amongst  the  learned  men  on  the  Continent.  In  the 
absence  of  the  publication  of  such  Martyrologies  as  Tallaght, 
since  edited  by  the  Rev.  Matthew  Kelly,  and  the  Marty- 
rology  of  Donegal,  collected  and  arranged  by  the  O'Clerys, 
translated  by  O'Donovan,  and  edited  by  Dr.  Todd,  and 
Dr.  Reeves, 2  Colgan  being  alone  in  possession  of  this 
knowledge,  was  obliged  to  confront  hasty  judgment  and  the 

complete  indifference   that  were  to  meet   his  cherished 

/ 

1  Etudes  Religieuscs  Historiques  et  Litldraires,  par  des  Peres  do  la  Cora- 

pagnie  dc  Jesus,  Paris,  18G9. 

2  Felire  na  naomh  nerennach,  Ro  scribadh,  F.  Michael  O'Cleary,  1630; 
translated  by  J.  O'Donovan,  edited   by  James  Henthorn  Todd,  D.D., 
and  William  Reeves,  D.D.,  Dublin,  18G4. 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  85 

labours.  Add  to  this  contretemps  another  disadvantage  the 
effect  of  which  was  quite  as  general,  i.e.— Ireland,  though 
the  possessor  of  ancient  historical  manuscripts,  unsurpassed 
by  those  of  any  other  nation  in  their  present  spoken  lan- 
guage, had  been  unable  from  the  vicissitudes  of  ever- 
recurring  conquests,  to  do  much  more  than  preserve  her 
historic  treasures  from  extinction.  Her  ancient  manu- 
scripts like  her  people,  breathed  an  heroic  and  lively 
imagination,  sometimes  tending  to  the  strange  and  extra- 
ordinary. Full  of  sentiment,  with  Christian  feeling  even 
to  exultation.  This  tended  to  impress  on  the  Irish  mind, 
that  strong  veneration  which  at  all  times  has  ever  been  ren- 
dered to  the  patron  saints  of  Ireland.  These  manuscripts 
were  interwoven  with  a  crowd  of  traditions,  the  very  frame- 
work of  the  history  of  every  ancient  nation,  so  difficult  of 
comprehension  to  the  uninitiated  critic,  and  which  has  found 
a  place  in  the  lives  of  several  of  her  saints.  Here  is  where 
the  characteristic  trait  of  Colgan's  character  came  to  his 
aid :  his  love  of  accuracy  was  so  great,  amounting  almost  to 
scruple,  that  he  related  with  a  fidelity,  to  which  almost 
every  one  has  been  pleased  to  render  homage,  the  exact 
words  of  the  ancient  hagiographers. 

POVERTY. 

Another  cause  contributed  at  the  time  of  the  publication 
of  Colgan's  works,  to  deprive  them  of  the  recognition  they 
so  justly  merited.  The  political  events  of  the  period,  were 
centred  around  the  struggle  that  had  closed  the  waters  of 
the  Schelde  against  free  navigation.  The  Belgian  libraries 
and  printing  presses,  that  had  been  so  flourishing  about  the 


86  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  began  to  languish  in 
consequence  of  the  military  and  naval  operations  of  the 
Spaniards.  The  vessels  that  carried  to  France,  Ireland, 
Portugal,  Spain,  Italy,  and  South  America,  the  volumes  of 
books  and  engravings,  with  the  paintings  of  Rubens, 
Potter,  Rembrandt  and  \7"andyke,  that  were  objects  of  uni- 
versal admiration,  were  no  longer  exported  from  Antwerp. 
The  Bollandists  themselves  sent  their  manuscripts  to 
Amsterdam  to  be  printed,  from  which  the  carriage  into 
France  and  Germany  became  expensive,  and  commerce 
became  paralyzed  by  reason  of  the  magnitude  of  the 
struggle.  Thus  we  find  when  Mabillon  commenced  in  1668 
to  publish  the  Acta  Sanctorum  of  the  Order  of  St.  Benedict, 
he  had  not  seen  Colgan's  Acta  Sanctorum  Iliberniae,  or 
Triadis  T/iaumaturgae.  Through  the  poverty  of  the 
Irish  fathers,  and  the  position  they  occupied  at  home  and 
abroad,  Colgan's  volumes  remained  stored  at  the  library 
of  the  college,  or  loaded  the  otherwise  empty  granaries  of 
the  Convent  of  St.  Anthony  of  Louvain. ' 

ETYMOLOGY. 

That  the  locality  of  Carrogh-ne-farne  ballybronaghan 
included  the  church  lands  surrounding  Carndonagh  on  the 
north-west  is  certain.  To  those  of  his  readers  who  may 
yet  speak,  and  who  esteem  the  mellifluous  Celtic  language, 
the  Author  will  attempt  to  explain  this  assertion; 
ceAc1ij\ATn1i<yo1i  —pronounced  ker-ru,  i.e.,  carrogh,  has 
its  equivalent  in  the  English  word  "  quarter",  or  one-fourth 
part,  "  lie-fame"  signifies  of  the  alder  trees, — and  bnile  brona- 

yhan,  may  be  ascribed  to  the  Irish  word  baile, — the  land, 

/ 

1  Etudes,  etc.,  chap.  v. 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  87 

as  in  ballyboe,  and  braineachan  may  be  rendered  into  an 
under-chief,  a  senior,  a  captain,  or  a  leader. 

Having  examined  in  the  Ordnance  Survey  Office, 
Phrenix  Park,  Dublin,  the  derivation,  given  by  O'Donovan 
in  his  manuscript  notes,  of  Money sliandowney — the  name  by 
which  Carrogh-ne-farne  ballibronaghan  is  now  known, 
it  appears  to  be  derived  from  three  Irish  words,  muine, — a 
brake  or  shrubbery,  corresponding  with  "  na-farne'\  of  the 
alder  trees,  and  Sean  *Ouine,  '  the  ancient  person1 — corres- 
ponding with  bronaghan,  the  senior  or  chief.  Thus  we 
have,  in  what  appears  to  many,  perhaps,  a  monstrosity  in 
names,  a  clear  and  well  defined  expression,  and  although 
the  Carrogh-ne-farne  ballibronaghan  of  Colgan's  time  has 
disappeared  in  its  present  analogue,  Carrogh-Muine-Shan- 
downy — the  original  meaning  and  interpretation  of  both 
are  the  same,  i.e. ;  the  quarter  land  of  Alder  Shrubbery  and 
the  Bally,  or  habitation  of  the  Deputy  Leader  of  the  Sept. 
We  shall  only  here  refer^to  the  etymology  of  one  other  word.1 
When  the  English- speaking  people,  brought  here,  on  the 
assignment  of  the  confiscated  church-lands  of  Donagh  to 
Captain  Edward  Gary  (who  is  styled  an  English  Protestant 
in  the  Down  Survey),  and  the  church  lands  of  Culdaff  and 
Cloncae  to  Mrs.  Sarah  Babington,no  doubt,  they  abbreviated 
in  pronouncing  the  names  of  places  after  the  custom  of 
their  country.  Carne  appeared  long  enough,  and,  being 
apparently  destitute  of  the  knowledge  of  Irish  orthography, 
they  followed  the  phonetic  sound  of  the  word,  spelling  it 
Carran,  and  Donagh,  the  name  of  the  church,  was  to  them 
a  clearer  distinction  than  Car  ran- fame;  hence  it  easily  be- 
came Carran  Donagli. 

1  Clunmagee  is  derived  from  clu  4111  nucAO'oA  :    The  lawn  of  the  sons 
of.Hugh. 


88  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

"  Already  had  the  stranger  band 
Of  Saxons  swept  the  weakened  land, 
Already  on  the  neighbouring  hills 
They  named  anew  a  thousand  rills". 

UlAj,  a  plain,  anglicized  into  Muff,  has  its  pronunciation 
between  Mugh  and  Muff.  O'Donovan  considers  that  the 
ancients  never  used  redundant  letters,  and  that  those  which 
are  now  quiescent  were  originally  pronounced  according  to 
the  different  sounds  for  which  letters  were  invented,  as 
arbitrary  symbols,  and  that  the  pronunciation  of  the  Angli- 
cized names  by  the  Irish  peasantry  are  as  they  were 
introduced  many  hundred  years  ago  by  the  colonists ;  the 
alteration  of  the  sound  of  the  first  letter  a  to  e  being  a 
modern  innovation.1 

CHURCH   AND   STATE. 

The  difficulties  that  surrounded  young  Colgan  in  the 
acquisition  of  learning  at  this  particular  period  in  the 
parish  of  Donagh  were  many.  Perhaps  the  despoiling  of 
the  chief  of  his  sept,  MacColgan  Donnell,  of  the  quarter 
land  of  Karrane-farne  in  1609,  when  John  Colgan  was  but 
seventeen  years  of  age,  was  indirectly  the  greatest  blessing 
ever  conferred  upon  the  ecclesiastical  history  and  anti- 
quarian literature  of  Ireland.  This  service  was  uncon- 
sciously rendered  by  the  Bishops  Knox  and  Montgomery, 
and  the  Lord  Deputy,  who  were  banishing  the  old  septs, 
and  depriving  the  people  of  Innis-Owen  of  their  inheritance. 

These  events  took  place  immediately  after  the  gallant 
stand  made  against  injustice  by  Cahir  ODoherty,  at  a  time 
when  Inis-Owen  was  swept  of  its  manhood,  who  were  by 

1  O'Donoran's  Ordnance  Survey  Letters,  Sept.  30th,  1834. 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  89 

their   prosecutors  forced  to  swell  the  ranks  of  Gustavus 
Adolphus. 

Had  not  Colgan  been  then  but  a  youth,  his  talents  and 
his  genius  might  have  been  lost  for  ever  to  Ireland.  But 
under  the  guidance  of  a  power  mightier  than  that  of 
Chichester  he  persevered  in  completing  the  education  already 
far  advanced.  We  find  that  before  his  departure  from 
Inis-Owen,  Colgan  had  made  himself  acquainted  with,  and 
had  wandered  over  every  one  of  its  hallowed  spots.  He 
had  treasured  the  hope  of  making  a  revision  of  the  National 
Eecords,  many  of  which  were  scattered  throughout  the  old 
peninsula,  originals  or  reproductions  of  the  llth  century, 
being  writings  of  Maeliossa  O'Brolchain  of  Both-Connais, 
and  his  successors. 

We  have  no  exact  date  of  the  time  when  Colgan  left  his 
native  parish  to  prosecute  the  studies  he  had  entered  upon. 
From  a  note  made  by  the  learned  author  of  the  Irish 
Franciscans,  Rev.  C.  P.  Meehan,  we  learn  that  Colgan  had 
visited  Kilmantain,  now  known  as  Wicklow.1  This  visit  must 
have  taken  place  previous  to  his  entering  the  college  of 
St.  Anthony  of  Padua  at  Louvain 

However,  from  collateral  evidence,  we  can  almost  assign 
the  exact  year.  We  read  in  a  printed  obituary  memorial 
issued  by  the  brethren  of  his  order  at  the  time  of  Colgan's 
death,  that^he  died  Anno  Domini,  1658,  on  the  15th  of 
January,  aged  66  years,  in  the  fortieth  year  of  his  elevation 
to  the  priesthood,  and  in  the  thirtieth  of  his  religious 
profession.  From  this  it  appears  Colgan  entered  the 
priesthood  when  he  was  twenty-six,  or  in  the  year  1618. 

That  Colgan  was  an  ordained  priest  before  he  entered 

1  Appendix,  Rise  and  Fall  Irish  Franciscans,  p.  297,  Dublin,  1872. 

12 


90  INIS-OYFEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

the  College  of  Louvain  is  highly  probable,  because  in  the 
list  of  names  of  students  received  at  the  Irish  Franciscan  Col- 
lege of  Louvain,  from  its  foundation  to  the  year  1617,  out  of 
the  various  provinces  of  Ireland,  that  of  Colgan  is  not 
to  be  found.  From  Ulster  appear  such  distinctly 
Donegal  names,  as  Father  Cornelius  Glacken,  llth  May, 
1614,  Father  Daniel  Crean,  Raphoe,  llth  May,  1615,  Father 
Eugene  Gallagher,  Raphoe,  17th  March,  1616,  Father 
Milarus  Clery,  known  as  Father  Bernard  Sancta  Maria, 
Raphoe,  received  15th  August,  1616,  and  Father  Duffy,  or 
Dooey,  who  entered  the  novitiate  loth  June,  1617. 

Colgan' s  visit  to  the  South  of  Ireland  may  have  had  some- 
thing to  do  with  his  ordination,  since  we  know  that  in  1610 
Chichester  issued  a  proclamation  (a  transcript  of  an  edict 
published  by  the  king  on  the  4th  July,  1(305)  commanding 
all  the  enactments  of  Elizabeth  to  be  rigorously  enforced, 
with  this  additional  announcement,  "  It  hath  seemed  proper 
to  us  to  proclaim,  and  we  hereby  make  known  to  our 
subjects  in  Ireland  that  no  toleration  shall  ever  be  granted 
by  us.  This  we  do  for  the  purpose  of  cutting  off  all  hope 
that  any  other  religion  shall  be  permitted  save  that  which 
is  consonant  to  the  laws  and  statutes  of  the  realm". ' 

The  above  extract  is  quoted  with  the  view  of  illustrating 
the  existing  conditions  that  surrounded  Colgan  at  the  time 
when  he  was  preparing  to  enter  the  priesthood. 

Many  of  our  fellow-countrymen,  who  differ  with  us  on 
matters  of  religion,  look  back  with  sorrow  on  these  dark 
days  that  stain  the  history  of  the  k'  Plantation  in  Ulster'. 
But  when  Catholics  arc  accused,  as  they  sometimes  are, 

1  See  Chichcster's  Letters,  S.P.O.A.D.  1610,  also,  Fate  and  Fortunes  of 
Tyrone  and  Tirconnell,  p.  64,  etc.,  Dublin,  1870. 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  91 

of  being  deficient  in  the  domain  of  knowledge,  in  defence, 
they  can  point  to  these  penal  and  direct  causes. 

Thus  it  stood  in  1610,  when  Colgan  was  prosecuting  hig 
studies,  not  from  the  resources  of  extensive  libraries,  but 
from  the  treasured  volumes  and  manuscripts  that  had  been 
preserved  and  hidden  away  under  the  roof  coverings  of 
many  an  Innis-Owen  cabin. 

About  this  time  Bishop  Andrew  Knox  (a  name  suffi- 
ciently well  known  in  connection  with  the  Ulster  Plantation) 
had  been  nominated  to  the  Bishopric  of  Raphoe,  and  before 
his  departure  from  London  he  entered  into  a  solemn 
engagement  to  extirpate  the  Catholic  religion  from  Ireland. 
The  king,  for  this  purpose,  investing  him  with  the  most 
ample  powers. 

The  edicts  of  the  time,  as  set  forth  in  Porter's  Ecclesias- 
tical Annals ;  are  of  an  imperative  kind.  All  bishops  and 
priests  were  banished  from  the  kingdom  under  penalty  of 
death,  the  harbourer  of  a  priest  was  to  suffer  by  the  con- 
fiscation of  his  property,  no  Catholic  was  permitted  to 
discharge  the  duties  of  a  schoolmaster,  or  to  send  his  sons 
or  relatives  beyond  the  seas  for  education ;  while  all  persons 
of  every  age,  sex,  and  rank,  were  to  be  present  on  Sundays 
at  the  service  of  Common  Prayer. 

During  the  persecution  of  Knox  and  Chicliester,  monas- 
teries and  churches  were  plundered  and  pillaged,  their 
altars  stripped  and  despoiled,  and  their  sanctuaries  defiled. 
Even  the  dwellings  of  the  chief  families  were  ransacked, 
their  looms  and  furniture  were  taken  under  various  pre. 
tences,  as  articles  belonging  to  the  service  of  the  Church. 
In  a  word,  everything  went  in  the  general  loot.  But 
the  steadfastness  of  the  people  caused  Chichestcr,  when 


92  INIS-OWEN  AND    T1RCONNELL. 

he  was  recalled  in  1615,  to  declare  : — "  that  Popery 
must  be  something  inherent  in  the  soil  of  Ireland,  that  the 
very  air  and  climate  must  be  infected  therewith,  sooner 
than  abandon  it  men  were  determined  on  renouncing 
obedience  to  their  prince,  all  regard  for  their  posterity,  and 
even  their  own  temporal  happiness  and  lives".1 

This  was  the  man  who  had  previously  written  to  the 
English  minister,  Lord  Salisbury,  the  following  words  : — 
"  If  I  have  observed  anything  during  the  time  I  have  spent 
in  this  kingdom,  I  may  say  it  is  not  lenity  and  good  work 
that  will  reclaim  these ;  but  an  iron  rod  and  a  severity  of 
justice,  and  seeing  that  the  law  hath  not  here  provided  for 
the  uprooting  and  punishment  of  those  firebrands  of 
sedition,  the  priests  ;  we  can  think  of  no  other  remedy,  but  to 
proclaim  them  and  their  relievers  andharbourers  for  traitors".1 

Such  were   the  religious   and  political  atmospheres  that 
had  settled  down  on  Inis-Owen,  during   Colgan's  youthful 
days,    producing   in  effect  a  denser   cloud  than  any  that 
has  since  obscured  the  summit  of  Slieve-Snaught. 
PUBLICATION   OF   COLGAN's  WORKS. 

a — "Rev.  Patres,  considerantes  utilitatem  et  honorem 
quos  huic  nostro  Regno  et  Ecclesiae  nostraj  Hibernicse  pro- 
venire  possunt  ex  editione  piorum  operum  quae  R.[evereii- 
dus]  P.[atcr]  Joannes  Colganus.S[acrae]  Theologiae  Lector 
ineditatur ;  per  praesentos  volumus  et  mandamus  ut  summa 
ex  nostris  pecuniis  in  deposito  Fratrum  Minorum  Hiberno- 
rum  Lovanij  existens  pro  arbitrio  praefati  Patris  Colgani 
expendatur  in  usum  praefatorum  operum  quo  ocyus  pub 

*  Chichcster's  Letters,  S.P.O. 

3  Sir  Arthur  Chichester's  Letters  to  Lord  Salisbury,  S.P.O.and  p.  345 
of  Meehan'e  Fate  and  Fortunes  of  Tyrone  and  Tyrconnell. 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  93 

lici  fiant  juris,  et  ad  Dei  nostratum  Sanctorum  Patriaeque 
nostrac  honorem,  nee  non  reliqui  quod  superit  operis  pro- 
motionem  detrahantur  dividanturque.  Huic  vero  nostrae 
dispositioni  et  voluutati  volumus  atque  adeo  mandamus  ut 
nullus  quavis  ratione  contraveniat  vel  obstaculum  inferat, 
In  quorum  fidem  et  robur  sigillum  et  cliyrograplium  his 
apposuimus  hac  die  6ta  Decembris." 

Kilkenniae  An.  Salut,  1642. 

HUGO  Archieps.  Ardmas. 
Presentes 

Eme[rus].  Dun  et  Conor  Episcopus. 
"Fr.  Thomas  Croby."1 
[Translation.] 

We,  Rev.  Fathers,  taking  into  consideration  the  utility 
and  honour  that  would  accrue  to  this  kingdom  of  Ireland  and 
our  Church  from  the  publication  of  the  pious  works  which 
the  Rev.  John  Colgan,  Lector  of  Sacred  Theology,  has 
conceived  to  write,  we  present,  desire  and  command,  that 
a  sum  of  money  from  our  funds  which  are  entrusted  to  the 
depositaries  of  the  Irish  Friars  Minor  at  Louvain,  and 
which  sum  is  at  the  disposal  of  the  said  John  Colgan,  be 
appropriated  for  the  publication  of  the  said  works,  that 
thereby  they  may  be  brought  into  public  view,  both  for 
the  honour  of  God's  servants  and  that  of  our  country:  nor 
let  there  be  any  dissentient  opinions  on  the  subject,  be- 
cause the  sum  to  be  expended  may  exceed  the  circulation 
of  the  works.  But  for  this  purpose,  in  accordance  with 

1  J.  T.  Gilbert's  Report  in  appendix  to  Fourth  Report,  Historical 
Manuscripts  Commission,  London,  1874,  pp.  599-G13. 


94  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIROONNELL. 

our  disposition  and  willingness,  we  desire  and  also  com- 
mand, that  no  one,  by  any  reason  whatever,  be  adverse  to 
our  design  or  put  a  preventative  in  the  way  of  their  publi- 
cation. And  as  a  manifestation  of  our  approbation  to  that 
effect,  we  here  affix  our  signature  and  seal. 

>%*  Hugh,  Archbishop  of  Armagh. 
Given   at   Kilkenny   this   6th  day  of  December,  in  the 
year  of  our  Lord   1642,  in  the  presence  of  %*  Emerus, 
Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor,  Fr.  Thomas  Croby. 

APPEAL. 

The  following  appeal  for  subscriptions  was  circulated  in 
English.1 

b — "You  may,  by  these  presents,  understand  that  wee 
the  poore  Religious  of  St.  Francis,  his  order  att  Louayne, 
in  the  College  of  St.  Anthony,  having  maturely  considered 
the  distressed  state  of  our  native  countrey,  which,  albeit 
in  times  past  being  rightly  reputed  and  still  named  the 
Isle  of  Saiuctes,  through  the  infinite  multitude  of  her  most 
holy  men,  Avherein  she  easily  surpasseth  each  other  king- 
dome,  yett  was  not  soe  happie  as  that  any  hitherto  should 
bring  to  light  her  manifold  ancient  ecclesasticall  monu- 
ments, to  the  noe  smale  dishonour  of  the  whole  nation,  and 
discomfort  of  devoutc  soulcs.  This  wee  say,  having  with 
pitie  considered,  did  undergo  the  interprise  those  many 
years  past,  to  gather  from  all  parties  and  countrcys,  and 
prepare  to  the  print  the  ancient  histories,  offices,  marty- 
rologes  of  the  birth,  lives,  death,  feasts,  churches  and  cells 
of  our  Irish  sainctes,  with  several  other  Lattin  and  Irish 
pious  workes,  for  which  alsoe  wee  have  of  late  erected 

1  Rise  and  Fall  of  the  Franciscan  Monasteries  in  Ireland,  by  C.  P. 
Median,  p.  .322,  Dublin,  1872. 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  95 

heere  a  new  Irish  printe,  whence  wee  hope  will  ensue 
manifould  fruites,  redounding  to  the  great  good  and  glorie 
of  our  Church  and  Catholike  countreymen.  But,  as  you 
know,  our  poore  state  of  life,  as  it  is  uncapable  of  wordly 
substance,  so  being  unable  to  disburse  the  requisit  charges 
for  persueing  such  a  costly  interprise,  the  only  remedy  to 
accomplish  what  wee  intend  is  to  have  our  present  recourse 
unto  youre  pious  bountyfullnesse,  trusting  in  your  noble 
affection  towards  your  country's  patrones  that  every  one  of 
you  will  be  found  no  lesse  zealous  to  second  these  our  pious 
designs  and  feeble  endevours,  then  wee  are  by  continuall 
labour  diviseing  how  to  restore  the  neglected  honour  of  our 
sainctes,  church,  and  countrey,  and  withall  to  enkindle  the 
devotion  of  our  thrue  beloved  Catholicke  countreymen, 
which  hartily  to  doe  it  were  (as  wee  thinke)  an  urgent  motive 
only  to  consider  how  all  other  Catholicke  kingdomes  ear- 
nestly endeavour  to  extend  theire  name  and  fame  to  procure 
theire  felicity  and  fmall  salvation,  and  to  mantayne  in 
vigour  to  the  divine  service  and  Catholicke  faith,  by  the 
devout  worshipping  of  their  proper  sainctes  and  holly 
patrones,  throughout  all  their  parishes  and  churches  ;  and 
yett,  notwithstanding  this  holy  generall  custome  of  all 
others,  how  our  poore  countrey,  who  gave  Patrones  and 
Apostles  for  the  mostc  parte  to  the  rest  of  Christian 
countreys,  is  brought  to  that  plight  of  miserie  that  it  doth 
not  only  worshippe  these  her  holly  missioners  sent  to 
the  conversion  of  severall  foorayne  nations,  but  also  is 
allmost  as  yet  ignorant  of  our  manifold  patrones  detayned 
at  home,  who  were  founders  of  so  many  rare  churches, 
cells,  and  sancturaries ;  not  regarding  in  the  meane  time 
what  ingratitude  it  is  not  to  acknowledge  the  inmi- 


96  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

merable  benifits  by  their  merits  received  whome  even 
as  our  countrey  had  of  ould  on  earth,  those  glorious  in- 
instructors  and  doctors  of  the  lawe  of  life  and  discipline, 
so  their  enjoyeth  for  intercessors  in  the  celestiall  kingdome 
to  mantayne  constantly  the  faith  and  piety  by  them 
anciently  thaught.  Which  inconveniences  to  redresse,  we 
lalour  to  prepare  those  workes  above  mentioned,  wherein, 
amongst  other  infinitt  pointcs,  it  will  clearly  appeare  to 
youre  view  the  stat  of  our  primative  church,  our  proper 
and  particular  patrones  and  holly  advocates,  whose  lives 
and  divine  examples  our  prechers  may  divulge  heireafter 
in  the  spiritual!  weale  and  consolation  of  all  in  generall. 

To  which  end,  and  to  obtain  competent  charges  for  their 
imprinting,  we  doe  present  unto  you  this  father  of  our 
order,  as  our  faithful  procurator  in  this  behalfe,  most 
humbly  beseeching,  as  you  tender  the  favour  of  your 
country's  holy  patrones  in  heaven  to  intercesse  for  you  in 
this  wreched  season,  so  you  will  bee  pleased  to  bestow 
your  pious  allmes,  and  so  oblidge  them,  and  likewise  us, 
according  our  duty  and  custome,  to  pray  uncessantly  God 
for  your  prosperity  and  everlasting  happinesse." 

Fr.  Bernardus  Connius,  Guardianus  Fratrum  Minortim 
Hibernorum  Lovanii, 

Fr.  Daniel  Clery,  Vicarius, 

Fr.  Joannes  Colganus,  Sae.  Thcolae.  Lector. 

Fr.  Patricias  Brennanus  S.  Thcol.  Lector. 

Fr.  Hugo  do  Burgo,  Commissary  of  ye  Irish  Francis- 
can Recollects  in  Germany  and  ye  Low  Countries. 

Endorsed : — Copia  Epistolae  Nobilibus  Hiberniae  a 
Patribus  Collegii  S.  Antonii  de  Padua,  Louvanii. 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  97 

FACSIMILE. 

A  facsimile  of  a  letter  in  Latin,  written  at  Louvain,  1642, 
by  John  Colgan  to  Luke  Wadding,  Guardian  of  the  Irish 
Franciscan  Convent  at  Borne,  is  given  by  John  T.  Gilbert, 
F.S.A.1 

The  letter  is  published  with  a  translation  in  the  appendix 
to  Rev.  C.  P.  Median's  Irish  Franciscans.  The  original 
letter  is  in  the  archives  of  Franciscan  Order,  Dublin. 

Gilbert  as  editor  of  the  Facsimiles  of  National  Manu- 
scripts of  Ireland*  has  given  a  facsimile  of  a  page  of  one 
of  the  missing  volumes  compiled  by  Colgan  on  the  History 
of  the  Irish  Missionaries  in  Great  Britain  and  on  the  Con- 
tinent. He  also  gives  a  facsimile  of  Colgan's  signature. 

TO  COLGAN'S  PRAISE. 

The  Rev.  N.  Almerus  (Father  Aylmer)  as  quoted  from 
the  original  Latin  by  Father  Meehan3  renders  praise  to 
Colgan.  The  following  translation  partly  conveys  its 
meaning  : 

The  scattered  writings  of  the  Fathers, 
Borne  from  the  Irish  Coast; 
By  the  cultured  pen  of  Colgan,  were  recovered, 
Dispelling  the  darkness  in  which  they  lay  obscured. 
Ilis  work  shines  more  clearly  than  the  eyes  of  the  Lynx, 
Sorrowful  he  points  to  their  household  gods,  then 
Rent  asunder ;  and  their  shrines  unfrequented — 

1  Contemporary  History  Irish  AJJairs,  1C41-52  by  J.  T.  Gilbert,  Dublin, 
1879. 

2  Part  iv.  2,  1884. 

3  Median's  Flight  of  the  Earls,  p.  597,  Dublin,  1870. 

13 


98  INIS  OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

He  lights  the  way  of  the  pilgrim,  like  the  bright  moon — 

As  a  thread  in  the  maze  he  unravels — and 

As  gold  cleansed  in  the  furnace,  casting  aside  the  dross, 

He  retains  only  the  pure  metal — 

His  aim,  recording  annalist  of  the  Irish  race, 

Through  the  lives  of  her  illustrious  saints. 

Breaking  and  pulverizing  false  and  deceitful  history 

The  pen  of  Colgan,  condenses,  classifies  and  preserves, 

Rendering  his  chosen  works  the  repository  of  truth. 

DEDICATION.1 

To  the  Most  Noble  and  Most  Illustrious 
Lord  Philip  O'Reilly, 

of 
the  Dynasty  of  East  Breffany 

and 

Military  Commander  under  the  Catholic  King. 
Most  Noble  and  Most  Illustrious  Hero, 

I  remember  my  having  dedicated  the  first  volume  that 
I  edited  concerning  the  virtuous  deeds  of  the  saints  who 
belong  to  our  hallowed  island,  Ireland,  to  your  kinsman 
the  Most  Reverend  and  Most  Illustrious  Lord  Hugh 
O'Reilly,  Archbishop  and  Primate  of  all  Ireland,  who 
acted  the  part  of  a  valiant  soldier  in  the  war  recently 
waged  in  defence  of  faith  and  fatherland.  Indeed  numerous 
favours  claimed  that  mark  of  esteem,  the  first  work  which 
I  published  relative  to  those  sacred  stars  that  shine  in  the 
galaxy  of  Erin's  saints,  justly  demanded  to  be  printed 
under  his  patronage,  who  in  other  respects  as  well  as  by 
1  Colgan's  dedication  to  Colonel  Philip  O'Reilly  of  his  work  on  D  uns 
Scotus 


COLGAN'S  WORKS.  99 

virtue  of  his  primatial  office,  was  the  first  dignitary  of  the 
country. 

Your  own  renowned  family,  famous  on  account  of  the 
number  of  celebrated  men  that  it  is  still  producing,  just 
like  some  longevious  tree  that  germinates  prolific  branches, 
equally  deserves  to  be  classed  amongst  the  principal  families 
of  the  kingdom. 

His  Grace  was  a  most  liberal  patron  of  the  Franciscan 
Order,  and  second  to  none  either  in  the  conferring  of 
favours,  or  the  fulfilling  of  his  promise,  thus  verifying  the 
prediction  which  had  been  made  concerning  him  in  early 
life.  He  ought  not,  by  any  Irish  Franciscan  on  account  of 
this  kindness,  be  placed  behind  any  person  in  the  nation  when 
favours  unrequited  and  a  client's  debt  are  tobe  acknowledged. 
The  foregoing  reputation  which  he  uniformly  sustained, 
induced  me  to  dedicate  the  first  volume  of  my  work  to  your 
most  illustrious  and  devoted  relative,  the  Lord  Primate. 

I  have  learned  from  the  numerous  testimonies  of  dis- 
tinguished men,  and  the  unanimous  attestation  of  the 
people,  how  your  illustrious  Lordship  imitated — if  not 
on  certain  occasions  surpassed — your  illustrious  kins- 
man in  alfection  for  our  institution,  while  in  defence  of 
your  native  land  against  its  inveterate  foes,  you,  above  till 
others,  stood  invincible.  On  that  occasion  you  also  came 
forward  to  protect  the  Catholic  Faith  from  the  venemous 
attacks  of  its  malignant  enemies — your  adversaries,  against 
whom  you  vigorously  contended  for  many  years  with  uu- 
diminishcd  courage.  During  all  that  time,  you  frequently 
exposed,  yourself  to  imminent  danger,  and  at  last,  being 
convinced  of  the  hopelessness  of  the  struggle  which  you 
gallantly  maintained,  preferred  to  relinquish  the  most 


100  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

ample  patrimony  to  be  plundered  by  heretics,  rather  than 
behold  with  your  eyes  the  fatal  wave  of  destruction  rolling 
over  your  afflicted  country.  In  the  midst  of  such  haras- 
sing circumstances,  you  chose  and  bore  an  honourable 
exile. 

The  narrating  of  these  facts,  which  so  highly   redound 
to  the  praise  of  your  kinsman  and  your   family,  would  be 
but   a  trivial   requital   were   I   not  to  supplement   it   by 
another  act  which  your  numerous  favours  demand.  Though, 
being  mindful  of  so  many  benefits,  I  regret  my  inability  to 
repay  the  debt   of  gratitude.      But   since   the    alarming 
prospect  assumed  by  the  state  of  affairs  in  poor  and  distressed 
Ireland,  prevented   me  from  dedicating  to  you  the   entire 
work,  as  I  had  desired,    I  endeavour  to   manifest  on   this 
occasion  the  gratitude  of  an  indebted  client.    Be  unwilling, 
I  pray  you,  to    consider  the  smallness  of  the  work,  whose 
deficiency  in  that  respect   is    supplied   by   the   precious 
matter  which  it  contains.    It  is  a  book  which  I  have  under- 
taken to  write  about  our  own  countrymen,  and  the  country 
of  John  Scott,    the  subtle  doctor,  wrhich  country  I  prove 
to  be  the  older  and  more  ancient  Scotia,  or,  as  it  is  sometimes 
called,  Hibernia,  but  which  is  named  by  pristine  writers  the 
"Island  of  Saints".     I  have  stated  therein  the  various  and 
sublime  teachings  of  the  doctor,  also  his  many  virtues  and 
incontestable  miracles,  which  are  irrefragable  proof  of  the 
sanctity  of  his  life  and  the  truth  of  his  doctrine. 

I  trust  that  this  small  volume,  which  is  expressive  of  my 
gratefulness,  will  be  so  much  the  more  pleasing  to  your  most 
illustrious  Lordship,  because  it  treats  of  the  doctor  as  your 
own  countryman,  whose  teaching  the  Franciscan  Order — 
to  which  you  are  devotedly  attached — has  long  since 


COLGAN'S  WORKS. 


101 


determined  to  follow,  considering  him  as  leading  the  van 
in  the  arena  of  divine  science.  Moreover,  it  ascribes  to 
your  country  that  brilliant  star,  whom  three  kingdoms  vie 
with  one  another  in  claiming,  and  who  is  designated  by 
ancient  and  modern  writers,  the  prince  of  theologians. 
Your  illustrious  Lordship's 

Humble  client  and  faithful  servant, 

F.  JOHN  COLGAX. 


THE   DOXAGII   CROSS  :    WEST   FACE.1 
(Standing  near  Colgan's  Birth-place.) 

1  From  A  licit  nt  Crosses,^'.,  Proceed.  K.T.A .,  3nl  Ser.,  vol.  ii,,  p.  101. 


102  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

X. 

DUNS  SCOTUS. 

Excessive  study  had  injured  the  health  of  the  hagio- 
grapher,  but,  like  most  men  imbued  with  a  love  of  work,  it 
was  impossible  that  he  could  remain  inactive. 

Duns  Scotus,  a  Franciscan  Friar,  as  has  been  stated  by 
Sir  James  Ware,  "led  the  van  in  the  fourteenth  century". 
The  sharpness  of  his  wit  and  his  scholastic  subtilities 
procured  him  the  name  of  the  "  Subtile  Doctor1'.1  He  has 
been  claimed  alike  by  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland ; 
but  Irish  writers  especially,  Hugh  McCaghwell,  Archbishop 
of  Armagh,  and  Luke  Wadding,  who  in  1639  published 
the  speculative  writings  of  Scotus  in  sixteen  large  folio 
volumes,  have  advanced  reasons  which  go  to  prove  that 
Duns  Scotus,  like  his  compatriot  Marianus  Scotus,  was  an 
Irishman — Down,  in  Ulster,  being  his  birthplace. 

Colgan  returned  to  this  cherished  author,  whose  scholastic 
theology  had  engrossed  his  attention  and  teaching  for  over 
twelve  years.  Duns  Scotus  was  the  oracle  of  the  Franciscan 
school,  and  one  of  the  glories  of  Ireland.  Scotus  had 
occupied  the  chair  of  theology  at  Oxford,  where  his  fame 
was  unbounded.  About  1301,  he  removed  to  Paris,  having 
been  chosen  regent  of  the  monks  of  his  order,  where  he  filled 
the  presidency  of  the  theological  schools.  Here  he  first 
inculcated  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 
which  he  supported  by  much  argument,  refuting  upwards 
of  two  hundred  objections.  The  university  adopted  his 
conclusions,  and  instituted  the  feast  of  the  Immaculate 

1  Ware's  Irish  Writers,  p.  78. 


DUNS    SCOTUS.  103 

Conception,  which  has  since  in  our  own  time  been  promul- 
gated as  a  universal  dogma  of  the  Church. 

It  was  on  this  occasion  when  at  Paris  that  the  title  of 
"  Subtile  Doctor"  was  conferred  upon  him.  In  1308  he 
was  removed  to  Cologne,  where  he  died  from  an  attack  of 

O          " 

apoplexy  on  the  8th  November  1608,  aged  43  years.1 

The  positiva  works  of  Scotus  were  intended  by  Wadding 
to  have  formed  a  future  publication  which  never  appeared. 
Colgan,  whose  failing  health  had  increased,  as  we  see  by 
his  letter  to  the  General  of  his  Order,2  nevertheless,  devoted 
the  closing  years  of  his  life  towards  a  further  elucidation  of 
Duns  Scotus,  and  he  published  the  Tractatus  de  Vita, 
Patria,  Scriptis  Joannis  Scoti,  Doctoris  Subtilis,  at  Ant- 
werp, in  1655. 

The  celebrated  Luke  Wadding,  the  Irish  Richelieu  of 
the  Confederation,  founder  of  the  college  of  St.  Isidore 
at  Rome,  and  author  of  the  annals  of  his  order,  has  added 
to  Colgan's  distinctions  the  title  of  "  Juvenum  instructor". 
In  one  of  Wadding's  Works  Scriptores  Ordinis  Minorurn* 
published  during  Colgan's  lifetime,  he  styles  Colgan  "  the 
illustrious  son  of  the  College  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  at 
Louvain,  the  meritorious  professor  of  Sacred  Theology,  the 
instructor  of  youth,  very  skilled  in  Irish  literature,  a  most 
religious  man,  assiduous  in  his  studies,  collecting  and  per- 
fecting works  that  were  monuments  to  Ireland,  though  cf 
delicate  bodily  health,  he  was  constant  in  his  labours  even 
to  a  miraculous  extent". 

1  Sir  James  Ware,  in  the  Writers  of  Ireland,  gives  1274  as  the  date  of 
his  birth,  and  34  years  as  his  age,  pp.  78-9.     The  dates  1265  and  43  are 
given  in  the  Imperial  Dictionary  of  Universal  Biography. 

2  See  Colgan's  Letter,  23rd  February,  1052,  in  appendix. 

3  Rome,  1G50,  p.  199. 


104  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL, 

This  tribute  of  recognition  towards  the  character,  abilities 
and  labours  of  Colgan,  rendered  during  his  lifetime  by 
Wadding,  whom  Sir  James  Ware1  styles  a  voluminous 
writer  and  a  grand  ornament  of  his  country",  affords  a 
pleasing  contrast  to  the  action  of  others  whom  we  shall 
hereafter  mention.  A  few  endeavoured  to  depreciate  the 
works  of  the  labourer,  and  to  despoil  him  of  the  fruits  of 
his  unceasing  industry  at  the  time  that  Colgan' s  success  as 
an  indefatigable  worker  was  not  a  success  from  a  pecuniary 
point  of  view— Ireland,  agonizing  under  the  sword  and 
mailed  hand  of  the  Cromwellians,  was  bereft  of  means  for 
the  purchase  of  his  volumes.  On  the  Continent  his  works 
excited  little  interest  except  among  antiquarians,  while  few 
were  disposed  to  examine  the  antiquities  of  Ireland.  The 
volumes  of  Colgan,  as  Van  Buck  truly  says,  "  are  books 
not  for  reading,  but  materials  for  study". 
Colo-an's  Tractatus  de  Vita  Joannis  Scoti,  although  referred 

D  O 

to  by  Dr.  Reeves,  is  not  described  further  than  by  saying 
"it  is  now  a  Arery  rare  work".2 

With   the  exception  of    the   copy  in   the    archives    of 
the    Franciscan    Convent,  no    other  we  believe    exists  in 
any  of  the  public  libraries  of  Dublin.     It    extends   over 
twenty-six  chapters,  written  in  Latin. 
The  first  Chapter  treats  of  Scotus,  the  Subtile  Doctor  and 

country  of  his  birth  ; 

Second — An  eulogy  of  the  learned  and  Subtile  Doctor ; 
Third — About  his  works ; 
Fourth — Of  the  doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Conception, 

in  which  Colgan  points  out  the  Subtile  Doctor  was 

never  in  error  ; 

1  Ware's  Writers,  p.  130. 

2  Ulster  Journal  of  Archaeology,  p.  301,  vol.  1. 


DUNS   SCOTUS.  105 

Fifth — Concerning  the  acumen   for  which  John    Scotus 

was  celebrated ; 

Sixth — Of  his  virtues  generally ; 
Seventh — Of  his  great  meekness,  and    his  humility  in  his 

writings. 

Eighth — Of  his  singular  obedience. 
Ninth  and  Tenth — Of  his  holy  poverty  and  purity; 
Eleventh  and  Twelfth — Treats  of  his  fear  and  devotion  to 

God. 
Thirteenth — Of  his  singular  devotion  to  the  Blessed  Virgin 

and  her  Immaculate  Conception. 
Fourteenth —  Of  his  firm  faith  ; 
Fifteenth  and  Sixteenth—  Of  his  most  ardent  hope  in  God 

through  acts  of  charity,  and  charitable  works. 
Seventeenth — Of  his  study  of  sermons,  his  contemplations, 

and  his  ecstacies. 
Eighteenth  and  Nineteenth  —  Describing  the  apparition 

where  the  Blessed  Virgin  appeared  to  Scotus  during 

prayer ; 
Twentieth—  How  Jesus    Christ   under  the    appearance  of 

a  little  boy  gave  himself  to   be  kissed  by   Scotus 

when  praying  on  the  date  of  the  Nativity ; 
Twenty-one — Concerning  many  other  saintly  acts  in  his  life ; 
Twenty-two — Of  the    authorities  who   make   mention   of 

John  Scotus,  and  who  call  him  Blessed  (Divus) ; 
Twenty-three — Of  the  year  of  his  death,  A.D.  1308. 
Twenty-four  —  Concerning  the    time    when    the    Subtile 

Doctor,  began  to  be  looked  up  to  as  the  "  standard 

bearer",  and  to  be  followed    by  the  Seraphic  order. 
Twenty-five — Of  the   writers    who    wrote  of  the  life   of 

Scotus; 

14 


106  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Twenty-six — Of  the   writers,   who  wrote   in  vindication 

of  Scotus  against  his  detractors. 

There  are  two  copies  of  the  Tractatus  in  the  Library  of 
the  British  Museum.  The  Trad 'aim  is  a  small  8vo,  con- 
taining 228  pages  of  text,  7  of  dedicatory  title,  and  8 
of  approbations  and  censuras,  with  2  of  indexes.1  On  the 
title-page  is  a  small  engraving  representing  a  convent  and 
church,  a  monk  kneeling  in  the  attitude  of  prayer,  and 
receiving  the  stigmata  from  a  crucifixion,  borne  on  a  halo 
of  clouds. 


XL 

THOMAS  O'SHERIN. 

On  the  death  of  Fathers  Ward,  Colgan,  Fleming,  and 
White,  Irish  archaeology  on  the  Continent  would  have  still 
survived,  had  it  not  been  for  the  devastating  whirlwind 
raised  by  Cromwell  which  was  scourging  Ireland.  Though 
the  bishops  were  despoiled  of  all  their  ancient  revenues, 
the  school  of  Louvain  had  not  ceased  to  exist. 

Father  Thomas  O'Sherin,  Professor  of  Theology  at 
Louvain,  one  of  the  censors  named  by  the  superiors  of 
the  college,  to  examine  theologically,  Colgan's  publications, 
was  from  his  knowledge  of  the  subject,  very  capable  of  con- 
tinuing the  work.  Dr.  Reeves  has  contributed  an  account  of 
Fr.  O'Sherin.2  The  name  O'Sherin  is  mentioned  in  the  Four 

1  The  Approbatio  Theologorum  is  dated  5th  October,  1655,  and  signed 
by  Father  Bernardus  Fallonus,  S.T.L.,  Father  Thomas  Sirinus,  S.T.L., 
Father  Antonius  Conma?us,  S.T.L.,  and  Father  Zyphirinus  a  Irseman, 
S.T.L. 

-  U.I. A. 


THOMAS   O'SHERIN.  107 

Masters  as  far  back  as  1087.  In  a  general  pardon  granted  at 
the  beginning  of  the  reign  of  James  I.  we  find  the  name  of 
O'Sheridan  a  prevailing  one  in  the  County  of  Longford, 
and  also  at  Trinity  Island  in  the  County  of  Cavan.  In 
the  necrology  of  the  Convent  of  St.  Anthony  at  Louvain, 
we  read  an  eulogium  of  some  length  in  the  record  of  Fr. 
O'Sherin.  It  may  be  summarized  as  follows — "In  the 
year  1673,  on  the  3rd  September,  died  here  R.  A.  Pater 
Frere  Thomas  Sirinus,  Lector  Jubilatus  of  Sacred  Theology, 
a  man  of  holy,  gentle,  and  exemplary  conversation,  of 
polished  pen,  and  profound  learning".  This  reference  to  Fr. 
O'Sherin  becomes  interesting  from  his  intimate  association 
with  Colgan. 

In  1661,  he  was  Lector  Jubilatus,  and  employed  his 
time  in  transcribing  the  Lives  of  the  Saints,  at  length 
his  life  was  taken  up  in  writing  the  Lives  of  the  Irish 
saints,  which  at  his  death  were  ready  for  publication. 
There  exists  sufficient  testimony  to  show  that  Fr.  O'Sherin 
seriously  entertained  the  idea  of  continuing  the  work  of 
Colgan,  by  using  the  materials  he  had  collected,  but  the 
want  of  funds  necessary  for  their  publication  became  an 
insurmountable  difficulty.  He  had  published  Ward's 
posthumous  work,  The  Life  of  St.  Rumold  in  1662,  and  it 
was  on  a  continuation  of  the  Ada  Sanctorum  he  was 
engaged  up  till  the  time  of  his  death. 

Father  Bonaventure  O'Doherty  was  the  last  survivor  ot 
the  Louvain  School  of  Irish  archaeologists.  Although  not 
in  command  as  a  general  officer,  he  is  recognized  as  a  soldier 
of  merit,  an  indefatigable  worker,  and  a  worthy  representa- 
tive of  the  intellect  and  patriotism  of  Inis-Owen. 


108  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

No  Koman  consuls  have  left  behind  more  lasting  testi- 
mony of  devotion  to  the  Imperial  City,  than  the  exiled  friars 
of  Donegal  have  left  to  Ireland.  They  gave  freely  and 
generously  of  the  time  and  ability  at  their  disposal,  and 
repaid  by  their  services  the  debt  (to  use  the  words  of 
Colgan,)  "  they  owed  to  their  country". 

LINGUISTIC  ABILITIES. 

O'Sherin  in  his  notice  of  Fleming  says,  "  In  this 
schedule  of  Father  John  Colgan,  of  pious  memory,  I  find 
in  English  the  following — *  The  Irish  Fathers  of  Louvain 
understood  French  and  Flemish,  and  joined  in  the  conver- 
sations of  the  brothers  who  were  Flemish  and  Walloons. 
The  Irish  students  who  were  educated  at  Louvain,  also  spoke 
Flemish'.  His  knowledge  of  Flemish,  German,  and  French, 
enabled  Colgan  to  read  the  lives  of  saints  that  were  written 
in  these  languages. 

The  Bollandists  consider  it  probable,  that  Cglgan  re- 
ceived his  humanities  in  one  of  the  Irish  Belgian  Colleges 
of  Cusack,  where  he  initiated  himself  so  thoroughly  in  the 
English  language,  that  he  seems  to  have  been  able  to  write 
it  more  readily  than  Irish.  His  knowledge  of  Latin  was 
very  good,  and  the  '  tenuem  in  hac  re  facullatem\  of  which  he 
speaks  in  the  preface  to  the  Ada  Sanctorum,  is  to  be  re- 
garded only  as  referring  to  the  flowery  and  oratorical  style 
that  was  then  in  use,  but  which  he  himself  applies  to  his 
own  forcible,  clear,  precise,  and  positive  treatment.1 

1  Eludes,  etc.,  chap,  iii.,  p.  412. 


XII. 
POLYHISTOR. 

"Among  the  many  distingushed  Irishmen  whose  spirits 
were  stirred  up  within  them,  at  the  wholesale  attempt  made 
by  Dempster  and  his  Scotch  contemporaries,  to  affix  the 
historical  label  Scotia,  without  even  a  duplicate,  to  their 
portion  of  Britain,  and  transfer  to  its  annals  all  the 
celebrity  of  ancient  Ireland,  almost  the  earliest,  and 
certainly  the  most  accomplished"1  was  Stephen  White,  a 
learned  member  of  the  Jesuits.  Born  in  the  diocese  of 
Lismore,  (some  say  in  Clonmel)  he  commenced  his  anti- 
quarian researches  as  early  as  1611.  Father  John  Colgan, 
as  a  labourer  in  the  same  field,  soon  attracted  the  attention 
of  Father  White,  both  then  occupying  almost  similar 
positions.  Fr.  White  was  Professor  of  Theology,  at  Dilingen, 
from  whence  he  supplied  Colgan  with  transcripts  of  many 
rare  and  valuable  manuscripts  which  he  used  when  producing 
his  great  work  the  Acts  of  the  Saints. 

Colgan  gracefully  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  where 
he  says,  —  "I  must  not  omit  to  mention,  what  I  cannot 
forget,  the  kindness  of  Fr.  Stephen  White,  who  in  furthering 
the  study  of  the  Acts  of  the  Saints,  has  merited  well  of  his 
country,  and  is  deserving  of  every  praise  on  account  of  his 
knowle  ge,  not  only  of  sacred  antiquities,  but  of  the  anti- 
quities of  almost  every  people,  lie  is  particularly  deser- 
ving of  praise  from  his  own  race  and  country ;  in  the  fullness 
of  his  generosity  he  sent  to  us  the  Acts  of  St.  Columba  by 
St.  Adamnan,  and  of  St.  Brigid  by  St.  Ultan,  likewise 

1  Memoir  of  Stephen  White,  by  Dr.  Reeves,  Proceedings,  R.I. A.  vol. 
Tiii.,  p.  29,  Nov.,  1861. 


110  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

many  other  true  and  unquestioned  acts,  which  would  have 
been  difficult  to  find  otherwise.  Full  of  dignity,  sanctity, 
and  advanced  years  he  gave  back  to  Heaven  the  gifts  he 
had  received  during  a  long  life".1 

The  translator  and  editor,  of  Cambrensis  Eversus,  when 
speaking  of  its  author  John  Lynch,  says — "'he  was  a  con- 
temporary of  Rothe,  Usher,  Fleming,  Colgan,  Ward, 
Stephen  White,  Wadding,  Ware, — names  which  nearly 
exhaust  the  catalogue  of  our  standard  authorities,  as  well 
as  of  O'Flaherty,  the  Four  Masters,  Keating,  and  McFirbis.* 

The  close  relationship  that  existed  between  Colgan  and 
Stephen  White,  is  sufficient  reason  for  introducing  the 
name  of  the  latter  here.  This  reference,  is  in  no  way 
sufficient  to  illustrate  the  services  this  distinguished  Jesuit 

o 

has  rendered  to  the  cause  of  Irish  historical  truths.  Dr. 
Reeves, -at  a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  read  an 
erudite  memoir  of  Stephen  White,  at  the  time  he  submitted  a 
letter  entrusted  to  his  care  by  Count  MacDonnell,  who 
copied  it  from  the  original,  then  (1853)  in  the  Archives  of 
the  Convent  of  St.  Isidore,  in  Rome.  In  Dr.  Reeves' 
memoir  he  says — "  Father  John  Colgan  had  been  for 
several  years  labouring  in  the  compilation  of  his  great  work 
on  the  ancient  worthies  of  Ireland,  and  had  two-thirds  of 
his  task  clone,  when  the  letter,  with  the  carriage  of  which 
for  the  hearing  of  the  Academy  I  have  been  honoured,  was 
written  to  him  by  his  venerable  and  respected  countryman 
Stephen  White".3  The  life  and  writings  of  Stephen 

1  Preface  to  the  Header,  Ada  Sanctorum. 

2  Cambrensis   Eversus,  translated  by  Kev.    Matthew  Kelly,  vol.  1,  p. 
Hi.,  Celtic  Soc.,  Dublin,  1848. 

3  Proceed.  R.l.A.  vol.  viii.,  pp.  29-32. 


POLYHISTOR.  Ill 

White  deserve  greater  attention  than  they  have  yet  received. 
Ware's  notice  of  this  learned  Jesuit  is  of  the  most  meagre 
kind,1  though  he  notices  Ussher's  reference  to  White,  as  a 
— "man  of  exquisite  knowledge  in  the  antiquities  not  only  o* 
Ireland,  but  also  of  other  nations".2  White  supplied  infor- 
mation to  every  writer  who  applied  to  him.  One  of  his  chief 
aims  appears  to  have  consisted  in  what  Colgan  repeatedly 
calls  a  "  very  thirst  after  the  antiquities  of  his  country". 
A  foreign  historian  designated  him  Polyldstor ;  one  versed 
in  many  histories,3  a  name  Dr.  Reeves  says — "was  con- 
firmed to  him  by  the  united  suffrages  of  fellow-citizens  and 
foreigners".  The  only  work  of  this  great  historian  that  has 
come  down  to  us  is  that  entitled  Apologia  pro  ttibernia,1 
against  the  calumnies  of  Cambrensis.  In  Cambrensis 
Eversus,  Gratianus  Lucius  says,  "  Father  Stephen  White, 
Jesuit  Doctor  of  Divinity  and  professor  emeritus  compiled 
u  very  elaborate  dissertation,  which  vindicates  triumphantly 
the  fame  of  Ireland  against  the  slanders  of  Giraldus  Cam- 
brensis ;  and  in  giving  a  list  of  authors  who  had  proved  to 
demonstration  that  Scotia  and  Scots,  were  in  ancient  times 
synonymous  with  Ireland  and  the  Irish,  he  quotes  Ussher's 
Primordial  John  Colgan  in  the  Triadis  Tliaumaturgae 
and  his  Ada  Sanctorum,  has  also  proved  the  same  fact— 

1  Ware's  Writers  of  Ireland,  by  Harris,  Book  1,  p.  103,  17C4. 

2  Usher'a  Primordia,  p.  400. 

3  lladeri,  Baveria  Sancla,  torn.  iii.  p.  75. 

4  Apologia  pro  Hibtrnia,  edited  by  Rev.  Matthew  Kelly,  Dublin,  1849. 

5  Britannicarum  Ecclesiarum  Antiquitalis  et  Primordia,  etc.,  Dublin, 
IG^O.     Gibbon,  on  the  Monks  in  Ireland  :  (Decline  and  Fall}  oh.  xxxvii., 
says  :  "  All  that  learning  can  extract  from  the  rubbish  of  the  dark  ages 
is  copiously  stated  by  Archbishop  Ussher,  in  his  Brit.  Eccl.  Antlq.  chap, 
xvi.   p.  I2j-j0:3". 


INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

and  "more  triumphantly  than  all  others,  by  Stephen 
White,  whose  manuscript  works  which  were  never  printed, 
are  now  in  my  possession.  He  exhausted  his  subject".1  Dr. 
Reeves,  in  his  memoir  shows  that  Bollandus,  Gretser,  and 
Ussher  were  under  obligations  to  Stephen  White  for  literary 
contributions  :  his  title  of  Polyhistor,  was  confirmed  by 
Colgan.2  The  date  of  his  death  has  not  appeared.  White 
speaks  in  the  most  favourable  terms  of  Ussher,  to  whom  he 
had  transmitted  from  Dilingen,  a  transcript  made  by  himself 
of  the  manuscript  of  St.  Adamnan's  life  of  St.  Columbkille, 
that  furnished  Ussher  with  his  "  various  readings";  Dr. 
Reeves  says  Ussher's  manuscript  of  White's  collation  is 
still  extant.3 

Here  we  see  these  distinguished  writers  acknowledging 
each  others'  literary  ability.  The  Jesuit  and  the  Franciscan 
friar,  both  recognized  the  antiquarian  researches  of  the 
Protestant  Primate,  who  joining  with  them,  ably  upheld 
Ireland's  right  under  the  title  of  Scotia,  to  possess  thehonour 
derived  from  her  venerated  saints  and  scholars.  This 
harmony  occurred  at  a  time  (1640)  when,  if  we  allowed 
ourselves  to  be  imposed  upon  by  partizan  writers,  and 
biassed  historians,  a  conspiracy  existed  for  destroying  the 
lives  of  Irish  Protestants. 

STEPHEN  WHITE  AND  JOHN  COLGAN. 

An  English  translation  of  Stephen  White's  letter  to 
Colgan,  from  the  Latin  text  published  in  the  Royal  Irish 

1   Cambrtnsis  Eversus,  1602,  edited  by  Rev.  M.  Kelly,  Translation  and 
reprint  vof,  1,  p.  C5,  and  vol.  1 1,  p.  2J1-233,  3  vol?,  Dublin,  1848  to  1852. 
8  Trias  T/i<ium,  p.  37L>,A. 
3  Proceed,  K.I.  A.,  vol.  viii.  p.  30. 


POLYHISTOR.  113 

Academy's  Proceedings,  is  here  given.  The  original  letter 
is  now  in  the  Archives  of  the  Irish  Franciscan  Convent 
Dublin.1 

I.H.S. 

"The  peace  of  Christ  be  with  you. 

After  a  longer  interval  than  I  would  have  desired,  I 
received  the  three  letters  sent  to  me.  The  first,  that  of 
the  4th  Oct.,  1638,  after  long  delay  and  concealment, 
reached  me  at  the  end  of  August  the  following  year.  The 
second,  that  of  Sept.  4th,  1639,  I  afterwards  discovered 
about  the  end  of  November.  The  third,  of  the  9th  Oct.,  I 
read  on  the  2nd  Deer.  Rev.  Father  you  will  observe  that 
my  want  of  quicker  reply,  arose  more  from  surrounding 
circumstances  than  on  account  of  my  own  wish,  which 
would  have  been  so  pleasing  to  me,  seeing  that  your 
letters  came  from  one  so  universally  esteemed  by  our 
whole  race,  whom  I  now  congratulate,  on  having  obtained 
through  the  gifts  bestowed  on  you  by  God — granted  only  by 
Him  to  the  few — that  diligence  to  guard  His  glory,  of  which 
you  are  so  well  qualified  to  advocate,  and  so  skilled  a  herald. 

In  spirit  be  of  good  cheer,  urge  on  persistently,  and 
complete  speedily,  what  you  have  so  happily  began.  For  the 
great  reward  of  your  immense  labours  God  awaits  :  whilst  a 
sweet  love  of  country  shall  make  your  work  light,  other 
things  will  follow.  Among  all  good  men  of  our  race,  your 
name  shall  be  held  in  lasting  esteem  as  long  as  posterity 
itself  shall  exist. 

Would  that   I  could  be    with   you  in  body  as  I  am   in 

1  Count  MacDonnell  says — "  I  found  the  original  of  the  following  letter 
on  a  mouldering  and  nearly  decayed  half  sheet  of  paper  in  th«  Convent  of 
St.  Isidore  "  in  Home".  It. LA,  Proceedings,  vol.  viii.  p.  33. 

15 


114  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCOXNELL. 

spirit,  that  by  a  commingling  of  thought  and  council, 
working  shoulder  to  shoulder,  both  might  advance  with 
joyful  and  untiring  effort,  first,  for  the  great  glory  of 
God,  and  then  for  the  glory  of  Ireland,  the  greater  Scotia  so 
very  dear  to  us.  In  the  mean  time,  since  that  cannot  be,  let 
us  labour  apart  as  best  we  may,  directing  our  energies 
to  that  noble  end.  With  this  object  in  view,  though  stricken 
with  years,  I  shall  not  cease  to  labour  in  proportion  to  my 
strength.  The  work  here  is  rendered  more  difficult  by 
the  very  remarkable  want  that  exists,  in  the  collections  of  our 
best  libraries,  of  works  relating  to  the  sacred  antiquities  of 
our  country. 

LOVE    OF   COUNTRY. 

Assuredly,  my  love  has  been  daily  increasing  during  the 
past  twenty-nine  years,  as  opportunity  of  time,  place,  and 
duty  permitted  me,  to  fervently  endeavour  to  bring  into 
light,  from  among  the  dark  caves  of  antiquity  that  are 
scattered  over  the  earth,  something  of  "  The  Acts  of  God, 
amongst  the  Irish" — the  ancient  Scots— natives  of  Ireland, 
the  Island  of  Saints,  men  rendered  famous  for  the  sanctity 
of  their  lives,  and  their  literary  works,  distinguished  for  their 
deeds,  at  home  and  abroad,  in  times  of  peace  and  of  war. 

The  want  of  necessary  funds  to  defray  the  expenses  of 
printing,  has  been  the  chief  cause,  why  some  of  these  works 
have  not  been  issued  from  the  printing  press,  and  brought 
into  public  view,  you  hare  also  reason  to  complain  of  the 
same  want  for  your  own  works. 

I  have  completed  two  fairly  sized  volumes,  the  one 
called  "The  Scotch  Caledonian  Eaven stripped  of  its  plu- 
mage by  the  birds  of  the  World".1  The  other  equal  in 

1  Scots-  Cakdonica  Comix  deplumanda  ab  avibtts  Orbis. 


POLYHISTOR.  115 

size,  if  not  greater,  with  which  I  am  better  pleased,  bears 
this  inscription  on  the  frontispiece,  "  Commentaries  and 
defence  of  the  historical  writings  of  Venerable  Bede",1  of 
Anglo-Saxon  antiquity  ;  against  some  new  Anglo-Saxon 
heretical,  as  well  as  bona-fide  erring  Catholics,  at  home 
and  abroad,  lately  in  conjunction  with  many  British-Scotch, 
i  e  ,  Dempster,  Cameron,  Hector  Boethius  and  that  epitomist 
of  his  Leslie,  John  Major,  Buchanan,  and  their  companions, 
who  treated  the  historical  work  of  this  most  venerable  man 
with  indignity,  twisting  and  distorting  them  with  the  skill 
of  evil  intent. 

SCOTTISH  THEORY  REFUTED. 

In  the  first  volume,  comprising  five  books — I  refute  by 
clear  and  distinct  argument  their  Scottish  theory ;  not  only 
from  the  general  plan  of  their  works,  but  from  their  methods 
of  pseudo  historical  nomenclatures,  etc.  Over  and  above 
this  refutation,  1  lay  down,  and  point  out,  to  any  reader 
not  blinded;  First,  that  for  the  first  nine  ages  of  the  Christian 
era  and  afterwards,  no  region  under  the  sun,  except  our 
Ireland,  was  known  to  the  writers  of  those  days,  at  home 
or  abroad  (proper  or  common)  by  the  name  of  Scotia. 
Then  for  the  first  time,  namely,  after  the  beginning  of  the 
llth  century  (but  not  before),  did  the  name  Scotia  com- 
mence to  be  used  as  an  appellation  for  both  kingdoms  ; 
i.e.,  Ireland  and  Albania,  or  Caledonia:  Scotia  having  been 
hitherto  synonymous  with  Ireland.  The  name  of 
Albania,  or  Caledonia,  was  then  applied  to  the  Kingdom 
of  the  Scoti  who  had  become  dwellers  in  Britain,  which 

1  Commentarii  et  Defensio  historiarum  Venerabilts  Bedae. 

2  The  river  Clyde. 


116  INIS-OWEN   AND   T1RCONNELL. 

extended  in  those  days  to  that  tract  of  country  or  plain 
lying  on  the  northern  bank  of  river  Elcluit,  or  Cluddae1 
and  the  Firth  of  Forth,  which  at  present  flow  beside  the 
cities  of  Glasgow  and  Edinburgh — and  that  stretches  away 
towards  the  north,  even  as  far  as  the  Duecaledonian  ocean. 
Moreover,  neither  at  home  or  abroad,  did  the  name  of 
Scotia,  as  applicable  to  those  two  regions,  come  into  use 
with  the  authors  of  those  times  until  the  fourteenth  and 
fifteenth  centuries. 

SCOTO-IRISH   COLONY. 

In  addition  to  all  this,  with  reference  to  the  first  founda- 
tion, some  of  this  Scoto-Irish  colony,  crossing  from 
Ireland,  sought  for  themselves  seats  and  settlements  in 
A  Ibania;  I  say  in  Albania,  or  some  of  the  adjoining  territory. 

For  concerning  the  going  out  of  the  Scoto-Irish  who  settled 
in  the  small  islands  of  the  Hebrides,  that  is  another  matter, 
taking  place  after  the  death  of  our  St.  Columbkille.  Some 
years  after  the  beginning  of  the  sixth  century  of  the  Christian 
era,  a  nobleman  of  the  Christian  religion,  Aidan,  a  prince 

of  Dalariada  in  Ulster,   son  of  ' with  his  colonists 

and  their  descendants,  dwelt  in  that  tract  of  Albania  at 
present  called  Argyle,  though  some  years  their  dwelling 
place  is  styled  Scotia- Britania.  Nevertheless,  neither  then, 
or  for  many  years  after,  was  the  small  principality  ot 
Argyle,  or  any  other  portion  of  Albania,  included  in  the 
name  of  Scotia,  or  looked  upon  as  a  name  held  in  common 
with  Ireland,  but  was  never,  as  I  have  said,  held  either  in 

1  Aidani  filii  Galhrani,  about  whose  authority,  among  other  things 
the  Convention  of  Druimccatt  near  Limavady  was  held,  A.D.  575.  See 
Reeves'  St.  Columba,  p.  92. 


POLYHISTOR.  117 

proper  or  common  by  any  authors  of  antiquity  then  flourish- 
ing, by  the  title  of  Scotia,  as  applied  to  Albania,  before  the 
tenth  or  eleventh  century.  First,  amongst  other  things, 
you  ask  me  to  send  you  at  least  "  a  summary  of  my  selec- 
tions", as  you  kindly  call  them,  that  I  collected  in  Germany 
and  elsewhere  ?  My  reply  to  this  is,  that  to  the  best  of  my 
recollection,  I  gave  almost  all  those  selections  to  be  trans- 
scribed  by  two  of  our  countrymen,  members  of  your  order 
of  St.  Francis,  one  of  whom  Rev.  Fr.  Fleming  (afterwards 

martyred  by  the1  in  Bohemia)  spent  many  days  and 

weeks  with  me  in  the  city  of  Metz  in  Lorraine,  during 
the  year  1627  or  1628,  and  returning  from  thence  he  brought 
with  him  to  Louvain  all  their  transcriptions,  where,  Rev. 
Father,  I  believe,  you  shall  find  them  if  you  have  not 
already  done  so. 

ARCHBISHOP    USSHER. 

Secondly,  you  ask  me  to  send  you  a  catalogue  of  the 
lives  of  the  saints,  which  you  say  I  "  saw  in  the  library  of 
Archbishop  Ussher,  Protestant  Archbishop  and  Primate 
of  Ireland''.  I  spent  many  hours  with  Dr.  Ussher,  who 
treated  me  in  a  very  kind  manner,  with  candour  and  with- 
out embarrassment,  and  who  dismissed  me  most  courteously. 

He  has  frequently^since,  both  personally  and  by  letter,  not 
only  invited  me  to  his  house,  but  also  to  his  table  (which 
I  modestly  declined),  he  further  invited  me  not  to  make 
myself  a  stranger  even  to  his  select  library,  which  is  of 
great  value.  It  was  there  I  saw  that  catalogue  and  those 
lives  of  our  saints  in  Latin  MS.  carefully  annotated.  Outside 

1  Rev.  Patrick  Fleming  descended  from  the  Lords  of  Slane,  murdered 
by  some  country  boors  or  armed  banditti  when  escaping  from  Prague, 
th  November,  1631— Ware'?  Irish  Writers,  Book  l,p.  112,  1764. 


118  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Dr.  Ussher's  library,  elsewhere  throughout  Ireland,  I  saw 
many  others,  though  not  so  great  as  his  catalogue,  yet 
very  full  MSS.  of  the  Acts  of  our  Saints.  But  I  was 
chiefly  surprised  at  finding,  that  hardly  any  of  the  MS.  col- 
lections of  the  lives  of  the  saints  which  I  saw,  could  be 
compared  with  those  which  you,  Reverend  Father,  have 
set  out  alphabetically  and  by  name,  in  the  catalogue  which 
you  sent  me.  I  saw  no  names  of  saints,  or  anything  of  their 
lives,  that  you  have  not  included  in  your  writings. 

PATRICK   COMERFORD,   BISHOP   OF  LISMORE.1 

Thirdly,  you  ask  me  "  to  try  and  send  you,  either  through 
my  friends  or  by  myself,  a  descriptive  catalogue  of  each 
and  every  ecclesiatical  diocese  in  Ireland :"  I  shall  labour 
as  far  as  I  can  to  send  you  a  catalogue  of  the  dioceses  of 
Waterford  and  Lismore  (in  which  place  I  was  born),  one 
of  which  corrected  and  amended,  in  matters  concerning 
which,  the  Very  Rev.  P.  Comerford,  Bishop  of  Lismore 
and  Waterford,  kindly  consulted  me,  he  has  already  sent 
you.  Scarcely  had  I  finished  amending  some  errors  that 
had  crept  into  that  catalogue,  when  in  the  course  of  a  con- 
versation with  the  Very  Rev.  John  Barnewall  (my  very  dear 
friend  and  companion)  Provincial  of  your  order  of  Minors  in 
Ireland,  I  mentioned  your  letters  to  me,  and  this  ecclesias- 
tical catalogue.  The  Rev.  Fr.  Provincial  informed  me  he  had 
often  and  earnestly  laboured  to  procure  through  suitable 

1  Patrick  Comerford,  of  the  Order  of  Hermits  of  St.  Augustin,  was 
consecrated  Bisho;>  of  Waterford  and  Lismore,  in  1G29. — C.  Mac  D. 
It  is  to  this  Bishop  of  Lismore.  Colgan  refers  in  his  "  magnum  industria 
collection,  trammisit",  Ada  Sanctorum,]).  555a,  note  2,  ante  p.  75. 


POLYHISTOB.  119 

members  of  his  order  in  every  quarter  of  Ireland,  by  his 
friends,  and  other  good  men,  and  by  his  own  efforts,  he  had 
impressed  upon  all  the  necessity  for  collecting  material  for 
such  a  catalogue,  and  of  forwarding  all  to  your  Reverence. 
Hearing  this,  I  no  longer  laboured  in  that  direction,  con- 
sidering it  unnecessary.  I  hope  that  I  have  now  replied 
sufficiently  full  to  the  more  weighty  inquiries  of  your  three 
letters.  I  can  scarcely  express  my  pleasure  in  learning  of 
your  efforts,  your  progress,  and  your  diligence,  concerning 
the  not  empty  glories  of  our  country  and  its  saints.  In 
this  I  particularly  refer  to  your  work,  the  "peilep'ohi,1  I 
hope  that  work  and  others  of  your  works,  will  in  a  short 
time,  not  only  see  the  light,  but  be  speedily  within  the 
reach  of  all  European  scholars. 

ADVICE. 

First  let  me  advise  you  in  a  friendly  manner  : — In  your 
catalogue  of  the  lives  of  the  saints  sent  to  me  Ailblie^ 
Declan,  and  Gerald  of  Mayo,  is  crowded,  not  only  with 
improbable  fables,  but  contains  matter  contrary  to  what 
has  been  handed  down  to  us  and  believed,  concerning  our 
Apostle  St.  Patrick,  and  his  legation  to  Eome,  and  thence 
into  Ireland,  but  is  also  contrary  to  the  ancient  and  modern 
Konian  Martyrologies,  and  clearly  antagonistic  to  the  un- 
doubted words  of  St.  Prospero  of  Aquitane,Venerable  Bede, 
etc.,  as  I  have  here  given  sufficient  proof  thereof. 

Then,  I  further  advise  you  in  what  I  consider  a  matter 
of  weakening  the  Faith  among  our  adversaries,  such  as 
Dempster,  Cameranas,  Boetius,  Major,  Buchanan,  etc.,  as 

1  The  Ada  Sanctorum. 


120  INIS-OWEN    AND   TIRCONNELL. 

well  as  all  our  writers  known  to  you,  domestic  or  foreign, 
either  present  or  absent,  secular  or  religious,  Dominicans  or 
Augustinians  ;  you  may  rest  assured,  that  no  treatise  of  any 
kind  (whether  treating  of  Grammar,  Philosophy,  Theology, 
History,  etc.,)  will  be  permitted  to  come  into  public  light, 
unless  it  bears  on  its  titlepage  this  or  a  similar  title,  i.e., 
R.P.N.N.,  natione  Iberni,  sen  Scoti  Veteris,  etc.  For  by  the 
continuous  mention  of  the  ancient  Scots,  in  whatever 
argumentative  works  that  exist,  scattered  throughout 
Europe  and  its  academies,  not  only  shall  we  create 
indignation  on  the  part  of  our  adversaries,  although  unjust, 
but  we  shall  create  curiosity  in  the  mind  of  the  general 
reader,  who  shall  on  inquiry  find  out  all  about  the  ancient 
Scoti,  and  the  more  recent  Scots  of  Albany,  and  of  the 
immense  injuries  done  us  by  such  Scotch  writers  as 
Dempster,  Hector  Boetius,  etc.,  who  have  denied  in 
the  face  of  the  sun  of  truth,  that  our  Ireland,  was  known 
everywhere  throughout  Europe,  by  the  name  of  Scotia, 
that  it  was  synonomous,  or  common  with  Scotia,  Scotia 
Insula,  Scotia  Major,  Scotia  Ulterior,  etc. 

ST.     COLUMBANUS. 

Finally,  I  pray  you  to  send  me  a  description  which  I 
remember  to  have  read  (in  Metz  in  Loraine)  when  the 
martyred  R.  P.  Patrick  Fleming  was  with  me  there  during 
many  weeks,  which  was  in  his  possession,  concerning  some 
letters  of  St.  Columbanus,  our  Abbot  of  Luxoviensis,  who 

1  Dr.  Reeves'  says— "St.  Columbanus''  Sermons  and  Epistles,  were 
copied  by  Fleming  from  manuscripts  in  Columbanus  Monastery  of  Bobio, 
they  were  eventually  published  by  O'Sherrin,  1GG7,  R.I.  A.  Proc.  vol.viii, 
p.  38. 


SCOTI  12 L 

sent  to  the  Roman  pontiff,  Pope  Boniface,  his  apology  to  the 
council  of  bishops  held  in  Matisconensis  in  Gaul,  whither 
they  had  ordered  him,  and  admonished  him  to  make  his 
defence,  about  his  absurd  observations  as  to  the  time  for 
observing  the  Paschal  rites,  which  was  different  from  and 
contrary  to  the  Canons  of  the  Roman  Church.1 

The  martyred  Fr.  Patrick  also  told  me  he  had  a  collect 
tion  of  certain  singular  matters  that  he  had  personally  seen 
at  Ratisbon  in  Bavaria.  Would  that  I  had  received  that 
selection ! 

And  now,  I  must  bring  this  writing  to  a  finish,  as  I  shall 
have  my  hands  full  for  some  days  in  clearing  up  intricalis 
conscientice  casibus  (occurring  accidentally)  and  assisting 
first,  this  one,  then  that  one. 

A  fond  farewell,  my  Father,  use  me  as  you  wish,  who 
so  far  as  my  strength  and  opportunities  permit,  shall  be 
always  ready  to  assist  you.  I  affectionately  salute,  and 
commend  you  to  God,  along  with  all  your  order,  that  He 
may  be  propitious  to  you  and  to  inc  I  now  pray,  and  I  fer- 
vently ask  your  prayers. 

Dublin,  31st  January,  1G40,  Roman  Style,  Very  Rev. 
Father, 

Your  servant  in  Christ, 

STEPHEN  AVuiTE, 

of  the  Society  of  Jesus''. 


XIII. 

SCOTI. 

During  the  time  Brother  O'Clery  was  traversing  Ireland 

16 


122  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

in  search  of  information  and  documents,  Father  Ward,  was 
assiduously  engaged  at  Louvain,  in  various  ways  preparing 
a  work  that  would  serve  as  a  preface  to  the  Lives  of  the 
Saints.  This  was  a  treatise  on  the  name  of  Ireland  (<le 
nomenclatura  Hibernice),  on  Ireland  as  a  nation,  and  on 
its  political  development  (de  Stata  et  processu  republicce) 
on  the  greatness  of  St.  Patrick  (Auagraphe  magradidin  S. 
Patricii.)  On  the  journey  of  St.  Ursula,  and  her  compa- 
nions, (Investigatu  Vrsulanca  expeditionis)  and,  an  Irish-Latin 
Martyrology  collected  from  several  ancient  Irish  Marty  rolo- 
gies.  (Martyrologium  ex  multis  vetustis  Latina  fltbernicum) 

But  he  soon  saw  he  had  not  enough  materials  to  finish  any 
of  the  abovenamed  works,  and  instead  he  proceeded  with 
his  life  of  our  countryman  St.  Rombaud,  the  patron  of 
Malines.  Archbishop  Bovnen  urged  on  Ward  to  proceed 
with  this  work. 

A  great  controversy  existed  about  this  time  between  the 
Irish  and  the  Scotch.  In  the  year  A.  D.  50G ,  an  Irish  colony 
was  established  in  Argyleshire,  in  the  South  West  of 
Scotland.  Irishmen  there,  as  at  home,  were  called  Scoit, 
and  this  name  was  extended  by  degrees  to  the  neigh- 
bouring tribes  in  Scotland,  in  the  same  way  as  we  see  in  a 
poem  on  the  battle  of  Brunenburg  in  937,  inserted  in  the 
Saxon  chronology,  the  Britons  in  the  work  arc  designated 
by  the  name  of  Sceotta,  or  Scotch.  Also  Marianus  Scotus 
(Muredagh  MacRobertaigh  of  Ballymacrorty  ')  the  learned 
monk  of  Ratisbon,  towards  the  end  of  the  llth  century, 
gave  to  Malcolm  in  1003,  Duncan  in  1040,  and  to  Macbeth 
in  1050,  the  title  of  King  of  Scotia. 

1  Whether  this  Ballymacrorty  is  the  same  as  that  of  the  townland  of 
that  name  between  Derry  and  Aileach,  we  are  unable  to  say. 


SCOTI.  123 

USURPERS, 

Thus  before  the  10th  century — as  all  at  present  arc 
agreed — the  Scoti  were  exclusively  Irish,  one  never  hears 
of  any  other  distinction  at  the  epoch  of  which  we  speak. 

The  Danes,  and  following  them  the  Normans  and 
English,  have  placed  on  ancient  Scotia  the  name  of  Ireland. 

In  latter  years,  and  by  degrees,  the  name  of  Scotia  has  been 
adopted  for  the  Scotch  only.  Hector  Boethus,  Jean  Major, 
Buchanan,  Leslie,  and  other  Scottish  historians,  have  pro- 
fited from  the  confusion  resulting  from  this  change,  thereby 
attributing  to  their  ancestors  a  great  portion  of  the  glories 
of  Ireland.  Dempster  and  Cammeranius  had  even  des- 
poiled Ireland  of  the  fame  of  a  great  portion  of  her  saints 
transposing  them  into  Scotch  saints. 

Ever  since  their  conversion  by  St.  Patrick  to  Christianity, 
the  Irish  have  been  great  travellers,  whether  to  make  pilgri- 
mages, to  spread  the  knowledge  of  the  Gospel,  or  for  the  pur- 
pose of  livingmore  isolated  lives  —  Irish  saints  seem  to  have 
obeyed  the  national  instinct,  and  had  spread  themselves  over 
all  Europe,  Scotland,  England,  Cornwall,  Wales,  the  Low 
Countries,  France,  Switzerland,  the  Northern  Islands,  even 
Iceland,  received  visits  from  some  of  our  pions  pilgrims — 
and  a  learned  Bollandist  says — "never  shall  these  countries 
know  sufficiently  to  recognize  the  spiritual  benefits  for  which 
they  are  indebted  to  them".1 

Everywhere  they  founded  numbers  of  monasteries,  some 
of  which  they  reserved  exclusively  for  their  Irish  brethren. 
Thanks  to  the  confusion  born  of  the  name  of  Scoti,  the 

1  Victor  dc  Buck,  S.J.,  Eludes  Retigiuses  Hislorique. 


124  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIECONNELL. 

Scotch  came  to  be  introduced  with  in  these  Monasteria 
Scotorum,and  with  the  tenacity  of  their  recent  development, 
due  it  is  supposed  to  the  pure  air  of  their  everlasting  hills, 
in  the  long  run  they  proceeded,  like  the  double-noted 
songster,  to  occupy  these  monasteries  of  the  Scoli,  even  to 
the  exclusion  of  the  Jrish.  Home  was  invoked  on  more 
than  one  occasion  to  intervene  in  the  controversies  that 
this  introduction  of  the  Scotch  into  these  Irish  Convents, 
had  caused  to  spring  up.  But  thanks  to  the  all  embracing 
name  of  Scoti,  the  Scotch  generally  came  out  of  the  quarrel 
victorious.  Naturally,  the  Irish  felt  this  recoil,  and  named 
the  Scotch  usurpers. 

LIFE    OF   ST.    KOMBAUD. 

Our  Donegal  archaeologists  and  hagiologists  resolutely 
came  to  the  assistance  of  their  country.  Father  Ward  ably 
proved  their  position,  following  by  Usshcr  the  learned 
Protestant  Primate  of  Armagh,  that  formerly  Ireland,  and 
not  Scotland,  was  called  Scotia,  and  that  St.  Rombaud, 
was  Irish.  Although  the  principal  part  of  Father  Ward's 
work  consists  of  a  historical  dissertation  as  to  the  country  of 
St.  Rombaud  (supported  by  the  consensus  of  opinion  from 
noted  writers),  he  further  strove  to  clear  up  many  details 
of  the  life  of  this  Irish  saint,  who  is  honoured  as  patron  of 
Malines. 

Father  Ward's  life  of  St.  Rombaud  extends  over  three 
hundred  pages,  and  proves  that  during  the  first  nine  or  ten 
centuries  of  the  Christian  Era  ;  Scotia  was  used  exclusively 
to  signify  Ireland.  He  speaks  in  a  very  methodical  manner, 
of  several  hundred  Irish  saints,  and  of  their  apostolical 


SCOTI.  125 

mission  on  the  Continent,  devoting  much  attention  to  the 
ancient  Christian  glories  of  his  country.  This  work  ex- 
hibits Fr.  Wards  great  researches  and  knowledge  as  a  biblio- 
graphist.  The  printed  volumes,  and  manuscripts  he  quotes 
from  number  more  than  four  hundred. 

In  this  exposition,  with  all  its  very  remarkable  references, 
there  remained  gaps  to  be  filled  up. 

Father  Ward  had  not  added  to  his  work  beyond  1631, 
and  delayed  its  publication  during  the  three  years  following, 
awaiting  the  arrival  from  Ireland  of  documents  he  required. 
But  in  the  meanwhile,  death  approached,  and  surprised 
him,  having  succumbed  to  an  attack  of  dropsy  on  8th 
November,  1635.  lie  v\as  wept  for  even  by  those  who  knew 
him  not.  The  publication  of  his  inartyrology  would  have 
been  most  valuable,  as  therein  would  have  been  preserved 
the  memory  of  a  number  of  saints  at  present  forgotten, 
lie  would  have  made  known  the  places  where  they  had 
laboured  and  the  last  resting  place  of  others  —  above  all 
he  would  have  aided  in  distinguishing  the  date  of  many 
saints  bearing  similar  names.  The  Fathers  of  Louvain, 
after  Ward's  death  however  preferred  to  publish  the  l^fe 
of  St.  Iiombaud.  Xo  doubt  their  great  poverty  caused 
delay  to  occur,  as  many  years  passed  before  they  carried 
even  this  project  into  execution. 

It  was  not  till  1 662,  Ward's  life  of  St.  Rumold,1  was 
published  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Thomas  O'Sherin,  who 
has  left  us  this  portrait  of  the  Donegal  vindicator  of  the 
Scoti.  "  lie  was  of  plain  appearance,  polite  and  polished 

1  The  life  of  ft.  luiniold  whom  O'Sherin  sUks  '•  San-.-ti  Rumolli 
Murtyris  Indyti",  by  Father  Ward,  was  published  as  !i  posthumous  work, 
p.nno,  !(>;_'. 


126  INIS-OWEN    AND    TIRCONNELL. 

in  his  manner,  of  an  irreproachable  life,  a  holy  conversation, 
of  agreeable  speech  as  if  seasoned  with  salt.  His  learning 
was  of  a  high  order,  mellowed  and  cultured  by  much  study, 
whilst  his  intercourse  with  philosophers  and  theologians, 
even  enhanced  his  knowledge". 


XIV. 
QUATUOR  MAGISTRI. 

As  Hy,  the  island  of  St.  Columbkille,  owes  its  present 
popularised  name  lona,  to  Colgan,  likewise  the  greatest 
work  of  the  Donegal  annalists  owes  its  distinctive  title  to 
the  conception  of  the  same  master  mind.  He  says  "that 
he  considered  that  the  product  of  the  labours  of  Michael 
O'Clery  and  his  three  chief  collaborators,  eminently  deserved 
the  distinguished  title  of  the  Four  J\Faslers*  The  O'Clery's 
have  left  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Ufastcrs,  the  Lc'Miar 
Ga(>hala,  the  Reim  Rionhraidhe,  a  catalogue  of  the  kings  of 
Ireland,  a  Calendar  of  the  saints  of  Ireland,  quoted  by 
Colgan  as  the  Martijrologi/  of  Dcnegal — the  life  of  Hugh 
Roe  O'Donnell,  the  latter  work  Father  Denis  Murphy,  S.J. 
translated  into  English-— which  this  indefatigable  worker 
has  as  present  in  the  press,  giving  the  Irish  text  and  trans- 
lation. Michael  O'Clery  wrote  a  glossary  of  obsolete  Irish 
words,  under  the  title  of  Sanasan  Nuadh,  which  was  pub- 
lishcd  at  Louvain  the  year  of  his  death,  1643 — These 
are  historical  monuments,  unequalled  by  almost  any 
other  country.  They  have  furnished  a  theme,  and  hns 
commanded  the  admiration  of  every  lover  of  historical 

1  1'rcfacc   Ada    Smictorum,  also,    O'Donovan's    Introduction,  Four 
Masters,  p.  xxxvi. 


QUATUOR   MAGISTRI.  127 

research.  To  Michael  O'Clery,  as  chief  collector  and 
arranger,  is  due  before  all,  the  tribute  of  our  praise. 
Sir  James  Mclntosh  has  said  "  the  Irish  Nation  are  enabled 
to  boast  that  they  possess  a  genuine  history  several  cen- 
turies more  ancient  than  other  European  nation  possesses 
in  its  present  spoken  language". 

Around  the  ruins  of  tho  Convent  of  Donegal — where  the 
chief  works  of  the  Four  Masters  were  compiled  and  trans- 
scribed — will  ever  centre  that  respect  and  veneration  for 
their  memory  that  services  rendered  in  the  cause  of 
patriotism  always  inspires.  O'Donovan  has  given  all  the 
particulars  of  their  lives  and  writings.1  They  devoted 
their  learning  and  the  labour  of  their  lives  to  rescuing  from 
oblivion  ]the  genuine  history  of  their  country.  No  monu- 
mental slab  marks  their  graves,  but  so  long  as  the  name  of 
Donegal  exists,  the  fame  of  the  Four  Masters  shall  remain. 

AD    MEMORIAM. 

An  unique  and  torn  copy  of  a  printed  obituary  memorial 
issued  by  the  Order  of  Franciscans  at  the  time  of  Colgan's 
death  exists,  it  is  printed  in  Latin,  in  Gilbert's  list  of  manu- 
scripts belonging  to  the  Irish  Franciscans — the  following  is  a 
translation — "In  the  year  of  our  Lord  1658,  on  the  15th 
January,  at  Louvain,  in  the  college  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua, 
of  the  Irish  brotherhood  of  Strict  observance,  fortified 
with  all  the  sacraments  of  the  church,  Reverend  Father 
Brother  John  Colgan,  the  chosen  professor  of  Sacred 
Theology;  and  for  some  time  commissary  of  the  colleges 
of  his  own  province,  passed  to  the  Lord,  in  the  sixtieth  year 

1  Ann.  Four  Ma$t.,V(A.  I,  Introduction. 


128  INIS-OWEX   AND    TIIiCONNELL. 

of  his  age,  the  fortieth  of  his  priesthood,  and  thirty-eighth  of 
his  religious  profession.  He  was  a  man  by  erudition,  by 
piety,  and  by  the  candour  of  his  mind,  highly  praiseworthy, 
and  in  a  remarkable  degree,  deserved  well  of  his  institution 
and  of  his  country  ;  for  thirty-six  years  and  upwards  by  con- 
stant and  unwearied  labour,  even  up  to  the  time  of  his  death, 
he  sedulously  worked  in  preparing  and  publishing  the  Acts 
of  the  .Saints,  never  complaining  of  his  bodily  infirmities, 
although  one  of  the  most  fragile  constitution.  We 
earnestly  ask  that  he  be  remembered  by  his  brethren. 
May  he  rest  in  peace". 

Gilbert  in  his  recapitulation  of  the  Louvain  Manuscripts,1 
tells  us  that  after  Colgan's  death.  Thomas  O'Sherin,  who  had 
proceeded  from  Ireland  to  Louvain  on  the  23rd  Sept.,  1629, 
in  obedience  to  the  order  of  his  provincial,  became  Lector 
Jubilate  of  the  College  of  St.  Anthony,  endeavoured  to 
make  some  of  the  collections  there  available  to  the  public. 
He  contemplated  a  revised  edition  of  Colgan's  printed  Acta 
Sanctorum,  and  published  at  Louvain,  in  1GG2.  Father 
Ward's  life  of  St.  Rumold,  and  in  1GG7  Fleming's  Acts  of 
St.Columbamis. 

In  the  necrology  of  the  college,  O'Shcrin's  death  is  set 
down  as  occurring  on  tli3  8th  September,  1G73.  In  the 
obituary  notice  attached,  "  he  is  described  as  having  been 
possessed  of  many  talents,  leading  a  life  of  solitary 
inoffensivencss,  full  of  sanctity,  exemplary  in  his  conver- 
sation, a  profound  teacher,  endowed  with  an  extraordinary 
memory,  a  silent  lover  of  a  contemplative  life,  and  devoting 
himself  to  writing  the  lives  of  the  Irish  saints,  particularly 
the  life  of  St.  Columbanus  and  St.  Rumold".  The  notice 
1  Appendix,  Fourth  licport,  Hist.  MSS.  Comm. 


BONAVENTURE  O'DOHERTV.  129 

closes  with  the  hope,  "  that  the  memory  of  this  worthy  man 
may  rest  in  holy  peace". 

BONAVENTURE   O'DOHERTY. 

The  name  of  another  contributor  to  Colgan's  great  work 
cannot  be  forgotten,  that  of  Father  Bonaventure  O'Doherty. 
Some  of  the  clansmen  of  the  old  peninsula  have  done  their 
share  in  the  work  of  rescuing  the  relics  of  the  past. 

If  we  have  done  nothing  else,  that  may  be  considered  suf- 
ficiently exalted  for  the  patriotism  of  the  present  day,  we 
trust  this  slight  tribute  of  respect  to  the  memory  of 
Donegal  writers,  and  our  endeavour  to  tabulate  their 
names,  may  be  at  least  gratifying  to  the  readers  of  7ms- 
Owen  and  Tirconnell. 

To  Donegal  belongs  the  greater  part  of  the  honour  of  the 
movement  initiated  by  Ward,  directed  and  designed  by 
Colgan,  built  up  by  the  O'Clerys,  embellished  and  enriched 
by  O'Sherin  and  O'Doherty.  Celtic  literature  and  Ireland, 
is  indebted  to  Donegal  for  the  preservation  of  much  that 
illustrates  our  Irish  history,  topography,  and  hagiology, 
which  otherwise  would  have  been  lost  for  ever. 

Father  Bonaventure  O'Doherty,  Colgan's  fellow-labourer, 
and  working  under  his  direction  ;  rendered  special  service 
by  transcribing  and  translating  manuscripts  for  the  Acta 
Sanctorum. 

Father  Mooncy,  as  we  are  told  by  the  late  Fr.  Meehan 
in  his  own  classic  style,  had,  from  the  moment  he  had 
renounced  sparth  and  matchlock  and  taken  the  cowl  in  the 
Convent  of  Donegal,  constantly  kept  in  the  foreground  his 

17 


130 


INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 


cherished  project,  of  producing  a  history  of  the  Irish 
Franciscan  monasteries.  Donegal  possessed  for  Father 
Mooney,  as  it  does  for  most  people,  who  know  its  mountains 
and  its  lakes,  a  spell  of  enchantment.  When  the  name 
was  mentioned  at  Louvain,  Father  Mooney,  whose  early 
life  was  spent  among  kerne  and  gallowglass,  bivouacking  in 
the  glens  of  Aherlow,  "  or  driving  preys  and  making  fierce 
inroads",  would  say — "  read  for  me  the  history  of  that 
monastery  I  loved  so  well — aye,  and  that  I  love  still,  though 
it  is  now  a  lonely  rifted  ruin' . 


1Thij\A. 

(The  Bosom  of  Fahan  from  St.  M  lira's  ) 


This  compilation  of  Fr.  Mooney 's  was  continued  and 
added  to  by  Bonavcnture  O'Doherty,  who  died  at  Louvain 
29th  August,  1680.  In  the  necrology  record,  O'Doherty  is 
described  as  a  man  of  erudition  and  exemplary  piety,  who 
had  laboured  indefatigably  in  transcribing  the  lives  of  the 
saints  under  Colo-an's  directions. 


CONVENT   OF  DONEGAL.  131 

With  the  death  of  these  eminent  archaeologists,  hagiolo- 
gists,  and  antiquarians,  the  unique  work  of  this  particular 
school  would  appear  to  have  ceased.  During  less  than 
half  a  century,  the  imperishable  work  done  by  these  pro- 
scribed exiles  of  Tyrconnell  and  Inis-Owen,  was  work  done 
by  giants  in  intellect,  learning,  and  patriotism.  Requiescant 
in  pace. 


XV. 

CONVENT  OF  DONEGAL. 

Any  reference  to  the  story  of  Celtic  literature  and  anti- 
quities connected  with  Donegal,  would  be  wanting  if  no 
account  were  given  of  the  origin  of  the  convent  itself. 

A  rough  interpretation  taken  from  a  transcript  of  the 
history  of  the  Irish  province  of  the  Franciscans1  shows  the 
chief  events  connected  with  the  foundation  of  this  once 
famous  convent,  now  as  sublime  in  its  ruins  as  it  is  sacred 
in  its  memories. 

To  the  Lady  Finola,  daughter  of  O'Connor  Faily,  wife 
of  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell,  Chief  of  Tirconnell,  belongs  the 
honour  of  its  foundation. 

In  the  year  1474,  she  undertook,  with  the  object  of 
founding  the  convent,  a  mission  to  the  principal  of  the 
Franciscan  order,  then  at  Ross-Rial  in  Conacia.  Although 

'  O 

at  first  she  received  a  refusal,  from  there  being  an  insuili- 
1  By  Father  Donatus  Moonoy,  Louvain,  1617. 


132  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

cient  number  of  brethren,  yet  her  perseverance  w  as  at 
length  reward* d. 

The  Lady  Finola  presented  her  memorial  with  much  force 
and  spirit,  telling  the  fathers,  that  they  would  be  responsible 
before  the  great  Judge,  for  the  loss  of  souls,  if  her  request 
were  not  granted. 

The  provincial  was  so  stricken  by  the  earnestness  of 
this  heroine's  appeal,  that  he  resigned  his  position  as  head 
of  the  order,  that  he  might  the  more  freely  devote  himself 
to  the  task. 

Finola  returning  home  after  her  journey  of  one  hundred 
miles,  persevered  with  the  good  work  she  had  projected,  and 
which,  with  the  help  of  her  husband,  was  accomplished. 

The  example  of  humility  given  by  the  provincial  was 
followed  by  some  others  of  the  brethren,  who  joined  him 
at  Donegal,  where  they  assisted  in  founding  the  convent. 

Before  the  completion  of  the  building,  Lady  Finola  died, 
and  her  remains  were  interred  in  a  vault  constructed  almost 
underneath  the  principal  altar. 

The  site  selected  forthe  Convent  of  Donegal,  on  the  eastern 
bank  of  an  embayment  formed  by  the  junction  of  the 
river  Esk  with  the  Bay  of  Donegal,  could  not  be  surpassed. 

On  a  jutting  point,  abutting  on  this  recessed  anchorage,  it 
was  protected  from  the  south-west  by  Muckross,  and  the 
island  now  known  as  St.  Ernan's.  Here  the  convent  was 
erected,  its  walls  being  almost  washed  by  the  waters  that 
flow  between  it  and  Revlin,  on  the  western  bank,  distant 
about  two-hundred  yards.  Immediately  south  of  the 
convent,  stands  Tullagh-cullion,  an  ancient  fort  once 
sacred  to  Cuchullion,  one  of  the  heroes  of  the  Red-branch 
Knights.  Beyond  in  the  small  plain,  or  Maghcrabeg,  stood 


CONVENT   OF  DONEGAL.  133 

another  monastery  of  the  Franciscans,  distant  from    the 
convent  about  twelve-hundred  yards. 

The  brothers,  at  first,  were  only  three,  they  soon  in- 
creased by  fresh  accessions  to  the  order,  chiefly  augmented 
from  the  surrounding  districts,  until  about  the  year  1510, 
the  community  numbered  close  on  forty  brethren. 

AN   HONOURED   PLACE. 

Hugh  Oge  O'Donnell,  then  chieftain  of  Tirconnell,  after 
a  pilgrimage  to  Eome,  took  the  habit  of  St.  Francis,  and 
died  in  the  monastery  in  1537. 

As  lona  in  the  earlier  centuries,  was  selected  as  the 
last  resting  place  for  the  chiefs  and  nobility  of  Scotland  ; 
so  also  in  the  sixteenth  century,  the  earth  about  the  convent 
of  Donegal,  became  the  honoured  place  of  sepulture  for 
bishops,  chiefs,  and  the  principal  families  of  Western  Tir- 
connell. 

Father  Mooney  tells,  how  previous  to  the  year  1600,  when 
he  was  sacristan  of  the  convent,  he  had  under  his  charge 
forty  sacerdotal  garments,  with  everything  pertaining 
thereto,  many  were  of  gold  and  silver  texture,  several  were 
interwoven  and  elaborated  with  gold,  whilst  even  the  least 
were  of  silk. 

The  sacred  vessels  consisted  of  sixteen  chalices  of  silver 
of  large  dimensions,  and  two  gilt  ciboriums.  One  of  the 
latter  may  be  the  one  now  in  the  convent  at  Carndonagh,  as 
an  inscription  shows  it  may  have  once  belonged  to  the 
parent  house  of  Ross 


1  Kosserelty,  in  the  County  of  Galway  ;  where  Boetius  MacEgan, 
Bishop  of  Elphin,  resided  in  1636,  he  was  one  of  the  signators  to 
the  Testimonies  appended  to  the  Martijrologi/  of  Donegal. 


134  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

One  of  the  silver  chalices,  formerly  belonging  to  the 
Convent  of  Donegal,  was,  about  1865,  in  the  possession  of 
the  Rev.  P.  Magee,  C.C.,  of  Strabane.  It  had  been  pre- 
viously in  the  possession  of  the  Rev.  Bernard  McKenna, 
P.P.,  of  Leckpatrick,  and  of  his  brother,  the  Rev.  John 
McKenna  of  Maghera.  No  doubt,  this  honoured  relic  is  in 
safe  custody  in  the  Diocese  of  Deny.  It  bears  this  inscrip- 
tion : — 

"Pray  for  Edmd.  Bourke,  Parish  Priest,  of  Killereran, 
County  Galway,  and  family,  who  bought  me  for  ye  hour, 
of  God,  and  use  of  ye  Convt.  of  Dunegall".1 

SEVENTEENTH   CENTURY. 

The  dawn  of  the  seventeenth  century  filled  with  gloom 
and  darkness  the  most  remote  valleys  of  Donegal. 

Her  hitherto  impregnable  mountain  passes — iinder  the 
skill  and  crafty  generalship  of  Dockwra— were  easily  as- 
sailed. Adopting  the  tactics  of  the  Romans,  divide  et  impera, 
he  found  too  willing  an  instrument  in  the  person  of  Nial 
Garve  O'Donnell,  brother-in-law  to  the  chieftain.  Nial  Garvc 
was  promised  for  his  perfidy,  the  territory  of  Tirconncll. 
Afterwards  he  was  suitably  rewarded  for  his  treachery— 
when  he  could  be  of  no  further  service  to  his  English 
employers — he  was  cast  into  the  dungeons  of  the  Tower 
of  London. 

The  Convent  of  Donegal,  for  a  period  of  one  hundred 
and  twenty-seven  years,  had  been  a  centre  of  education 

1  A  paper,  with  plate  of  chalice,  by  A.  G.  Gcoghcgan,  of  Derry  ap- 
peared, in  Trans.  Kilkenny  Aich,  &oc.,  vol.  v.,  p.  830,  18G7. 


CONVENT    OF   DONEGAL.  135 

and  religious  teaching.  On  the  10th  August,  1601,  it  was 
invested  during  the  absence  of  the  Chief  of  Tirconnell,  by  a 
force  under  Nial  Garve  and  his  English  auxiliaries. 

Father  Mooney  tells  that  having  been  forewarned  of  the 
enemy's  approach,  the  brethren  fled  to  rural  districts 
several  miles  distant ;  he  himself  being  one  of  the  last  -who 
left  the  convent.  They  took  flight  by  sea,  carrying  with  them 
all  they  could  save  of  the  relics  of  the  convent,  which  was  con- 
verted into  a  garrison  and  filled  with  soldiers.  Immediately 
after,  fire,  as  some  thought  from  heaven,  ignited  the  powder 
stored  in  the  buildings,  destroying  the  convent  and  church, 
and  blowing  to  atoms  many  of  the  soldiers.  About  one 
thousand  persons  perished  miserably  with  its  destruction. 

The  next  year,  Oliver  Lambert,  governor  of  Connaught, 
seized  the  whole  of  the  sacred  vessels  within  his  reach,  and 
converted  the  chalices  into  profane  cups,  and  the  vestments 
Avere  put  to  different  uses,  rending  them  to  pieces,  or  causing 
them  to  be  burnt.  Thus  the  convent  itself,  and  all  its  sacred 
relics  perished,  the  brothers  living  scattered  over  the  moun- 
tain districts  around,  to  at  least  the  number  of  twelve ;  some 
were  translated  into  other  convents. 

After  a  moderate  restoration  of  calm,  and  the  death  of 
O'Donnell  in  Spain,  his  brother  Roderick,  was  reduced  to 
the  position  of  Earl  of  Tirconnell  by  James  1st.  He  began 
to  reconstruct  the  convent,  but  ascertaining  the  English 

'  O  O 

were  laying  plans  to  encompass  his  death,  he  together  with 
O'Neill  and  the  flower  of  the  Irish  nobility  of  Ulster  took 
their  sad  depature  from  Lough  Swilly,  as  told  in  his  most 
classic  style  by  the  late  Father  Median.1  The  "  Four 

1  Fate  and  Fortunes  of  Tirconnell,  chap.  iv. 


136  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Masters",  chronicling  the  event,  say — "a  distinguished  crew 
was  this  for  one  ship,  for  it  is  certain  that  the  sea  never  car- 
ried, and  that  the  winds  never  wafted  from  the  Irish  shores, 
individuals  more  illustrious  or  noble  in  genealogy,  or  more 
renowned  for  deeds  of  valour,  prowess,  and  high  achieve- 
ments". 

With  Donegal  handed  over  to  the  Plantation,  the  aged 
members  of  the  convent  were  permitted  to  end  their  days 
in  obscure  places  where  they  had  received  shelter :  the 
younger  members  of  the  community  were  forced  to  find 
elsewhere  an  asylum  denied  to  them  at  home. 

HALLOWED    MEMORIES. 

In  1612,  Bishop  Montgomery,  the  first  Protestant  Bishop 
of  Deny,  suggestedto  James  I.,  that  the  Convent  of  Donegal, 
which  had  been  partly  rebuilt  by  the  Earl  of  Tirconnell, 
might  be  used  as  a  seminary  for  students,  who  were  not 
able  to  maintain  themselves  in  Trinity  College,  Dublin ;  but 
after  using  it  for  a  time,  as  a  place  for  Protestant  worship, 
it  fell  into  decay.  In  its  vicinity — in  deserto  missionis — the 
Four  Masters,  from  1632  to  1636,  compiled  the  Annals  of 
Donegal.  Here  around  the  crumbling  ruins  of  this  once  fa- 
mous convent,  slowly  hastening  to  decay,  rests  the  remains 
of  many  men  noted  in  history,  whose  deeds  of  bravery  and 
heroism  has  been  the  theme  of  poets,  and  whose  learning, 
and  sanctity,  has  left  a  halo  around  their  names.1 

1  "It  is  gratifying  to  know  that  this  vencrahle  old  pile  was  left  by  the 
planting  prowlers  to  crumble  away  in  peace" — Rev.  George  Hill,  in 
Plantation  Papers,  p.  11G,  Belfast,  1888. 


CONVENT  OF  DONEGAL.  137 

On  account  of  the  history  attached  to  its  former  dis- 
tinguished inmates,  and  the  dead  sleeping  beneath  the 
shadow  of  its  ruins,  the  site  of  the  Convent  of  Donegal 
will  ever  hold  in  reflective  minds  an  honoured  place. 

Places  associated  with  the  name  of  a  great  man,  or  being 
the  scene  of  a  noble  action,  which  up  till  that  time 
were  comparatively  unknown,  become  invested  with  an 
all-absorbing  interest.  In  the  mind  of  the  student  of 
English  literature,  the  village  of  Stratford-on-Avon  is 
hallowed  from  association  with  the  name  of  William 
Shakespeare;  to  the  heart  of  the  Scottish  patriot  Bannock- 
burn  must  be  ever  dear;  whilst  here  at  home— over  the 
ruins  of  the  Convent  of  Donegal  will  ever  centre  the  respect 
and  veneration  of  all  who  take  pride  in  the  good  deeds  of 
our  clansmen  and  kinsmen. 

There,  in  the  Convent  of  Donegal,  after  patient  labour  in 
collecting  and  rescuing  from  fast  impending  oblivion,  the 
Four  Masters  compiled  their  great  work.  Under  the 
shadow  of  the  crumbling  ruin  that  had  sheltered  them  in 
life,  they  found  a  resting  place  in  death.  On  no  slab  is  en- 
graved their  title  to  fame,  if  we  except  an  Irish  cross  erec- 
ted in  recent  years,  in  a  corner  of  grounds  attached  to  the 
Mater  Misericordise  Hospital,  Dublin.  This  monument, 
raised  through  the  exertions  of  the  late  Sir  W.  Wilde  and 
the  Rev.  C.  P.  Meehan,  was  unnecessary :  They  have  left 
for  themselves  a  monument  "  more  enduring  than  brass". 

We  observe  with  pleasure,  that  since  the  foregoing  was 
written,  an  article  on  the  same  subject  from  the  pen  of  a 
Donegal  writer,  has  been  published.1 

1  Donegal  Abbey  in  the  Ecd.  Register,  Sept.,  1889,  by  Rev.  J.  C.  Cannon. 

18 


XVI. 

CRITICS. 

PETER  TALBOT. 

The  works  of  Colgan  were  not  permitted  to  escape  the 
jaundiced  eye  of  the  superficial  critic;  generally  the  most 
severe  critics  are  those  who  consider  themselves  greater 
authorities  than  the  author  of  the  work  they  criticise.  Victor 
Hugo  points  out  the  role  of  the  real  critic,  when  he  says 
— "the  author  is  not  one  of  those  who  recognizes  the  right 
of  the  critic  to  question  a  poet  on  his  subject,  and  to  ask 
him  why  he  choses  such  a  subject.  The  work  is  good  or 
bad?  Behold  the  extent  and  domain  of  the  critic!"1 

The  labours  of  Colgan's  lifetime  did  not  escape  censure. 
Peter  Talbot,  Catholic  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  born  in  1020, 
called  Colgan  incertorum  corrosor — the  collector  of 
uncertainties.  The  distinguished  place  occupied  by  this 
archbishop — son  of  Sir  William  Talbot,  brother  to  Richard 
Talbot,  who  was  created  by  James  II.  Duke  ofTirconnell 
and  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland — is  sufficient  evidence  to 
show  that  Colgan's  Irish  historical  collections  harmonized 
badlv  with  the  aristocratic  surroundings  of  that  learned 
Jesuit. 

Peter  Talbot's  work  lay  more  in  the  political,  than  in  the 
antiquarian  field.  He  is  credited  with  the  reconciliation 

1  Victor  Hugo,  Les  Oiientahs. 


UISHOP   NICHOLSON.  139 

of  Charles  II.  to  Catholicity  ,which  event  took  place'in  1656. 
He  was  a  man  of  considerable  ability  and  courage.  Sir 
James  Ware  calls  him  "  a  forward  bold  man,  vain  and 
infinitely  ambitious" ;  he  did  not  fear  personal  discomfort. 
At  a  time  when  Catholics  were  much  oppressed  he  was  sent 
into  England,  where  he  became  intimate  with  Cromwell, 
whose  funeral  he  attended,  and  wore  mourning  for  some 
time  in  public  after  the  Protector's  death. 

That  Archbishop  Talbot  could  be  an  admirer  of  the  work 
produced  by  the  secluded  and  retiring  Colgan,  would  be 
placing  too  much  to  the  credit  of  human  nature.  The 
family  of  Talbot  were  nothing  if  not  rulers,  hence  it  need 
cause  no  surprise  to  find  Peter  Talbot,  who  had  been 
relieved  of  his  vows  as  a  Jesuit,  when  he  was  raised  to  the 
Archbishopric  of  Dublin,  May  2nd,  1669,  by  Clement  IX., 
laying  claim  to  the  ancient  Primatial  privileges  of  the  See 
of  Armagh.  Oliver  Plunkett,  who  wras  afterwards  beheaded 
and  quartered  at  Tyburn  on  the  1st  July,  1681,  was  about 
the  time  we  speak  of  Primate  of  All  Ireland. 

Archbishop  Talbot,  however,  underwent  two  years  impri- 
sonment in  Dublin  Castle,  from  which  even  his  former  Eng- 
lish associations  did  not  enable  him  to  escape.  He  died  in 
1680,'  after  a  miserable  and  helpless  confinement. 

BISHOP    WILLIAM   NICHOLSON. 

Another  adverse  critic  of  Colgan's  works  was  found  in 
the  person  of  William,  Lord  Bishop  of  Deny,  as  he  styles 
himself  on  the  title-page  of  The  Irish  Historical  Library* 

1  Ware's  Writers  of  Ireland,  pp.  191-194. 
•  Dublin,  1724. 


140  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Bishop  Nicholson,  in  the  language  of  adulation, 
dedicates  his  work  to  the  Right  Hon.  William  Conolly, 
Speaker  of  the  Irish  House  of  Commons,  and  acknow- 
ledges the  many  favours  he  received  "  ever  since  His 
Majesty's  most  gracious  translation  of  me  from  the  See 
of  Carlisle  to  that  of  Deny,  where  I  now  very  happily 
reside".  From  his  happy  episcopal  seat,  he  relates  how 
before  leaving  Carlisle,  he  had  given  to  the  world  his  Eng- 
lish and  Scottish  Libraries,  and  in  the  fullness  of  his  happi- 
ness he  was  desirous  of  rendering  a  similar  service  to  Ireland, 
"since  God's  providence  and  my  Sovereign's  goodness  had 
given  me  my  last  lot  in  this  island",  he  proceeds:  "I  am 
under  a  more  pressing  obligation  of  paying  my  dying 
respects  to  a  country  which  gives  me  and  my  family  the 
present  comfortable  supports  of  life".  Thus  it  will  be  seen 
that  the  bishop  was  not  ungrateful,  and  did  not  ignore  the 
country  that  gave  him  a  comfortable  living  and  happy  home. 

Let  us  examine  how  he  paid  Ireland  his  "  dying  respects". 
He  does  acknowledge  that  "  Ireland  was  the  fountain  of 
learning  to  which  all  the  Western  Christians  had  recourse" 
before  the  Norwegians  had  made  acquaintance  with  the 
country. 

Bishop  Nicholson  in  his  preface  takes  all  proof  on 
himself  for  what  he  writes.  He  says — "  wherever  the 
reader  [meets  with  a  character  of  any  writer,  for  which  a 
better  authority  is  not  quoted,  I  alone  am  answerable 
for  it".  Nicholson  did  not  like  the  details  of  the  lives  of 
Irish  saints,  or  the  particulars  of  Irish  historical  events. 

In  his  reference  to  the  Annals  of  Donegal,  he  renders 
the  Celtic  name  of  their  chief  author  into  English  as 
Michael  O'Clerigh  (or  clerk)  ;  and  gives  the  reader  his  own 


BISHOP   NICHOLSON.  141 

conjectures  of  the  reason  why  the  "Four  Masters"  remained 
unpublished  :  the  work  having  received  the  approval  and 
beingrecommended  tothe  press  by  several  of  their  superiors, 
in  1636,  when,  "  they  hoped  to  have  it  published  with  those 
usual  accoutrements".  He  further  tells  how  Father  Ward 
received  his  surname  from  the  appellative,  Bard  (this  on 
the  authority  of  John  Conry)  ;  "and  having  undertaken  a 
general  history  of  the  saints  in  Ireland,  in  order  to  provide 
himself  with  materials  sufficient  for  such  a  fabric,  sent 
Michael  O'Cleri  hither,  as  a  factor  in  church  antiquities. 
But  that  missionary  seems  to  have  exceeded  his  commission, 
and  to  have  trafficked  chiefly  with  men  conversant  in  the 
secular  parts  of  our  history.  This  produced  these  annals 
of  his  and  his  three  fellow  Masters". 

REDEEMING   FEATURES. 

Though  Bishop  Nicholson  wrote  of  the  Four  Masters  as 
above  quoted,  he  had  some  redeeming  features — he  con- 
demns Dempster's  robbery  of  Irish  saints,  and  has  a  word  of 
approval  for  those  who  had  recovered  the  stolen  treasure. 
He  adds  his  testimony  that  the  Scoti  of  ancient  times,  famed 
for  sanctity  and  learning,  were  [as  he  says  with  expressive 
Cumberland  emphasis]  "  all  of  our  Irishmen,  as  has  been 
proved  by  Ward,  Linch,  and  others". 

Nicholson  was  more  at  home  in  the  country  of  his  birth. 
He  was  the  son  of  the  Hector  of  Plumbard,  was  born  in 
Cumberland  in  1655,  and  received  his  education  at  Oxford. 
His  antiquarian  tastes  were  acquired  on  the  Continent, 
having  read  in  the  principal  libraries  of  Germany,  he  contri- 
buted during  1680-3  eome  descriptions  to  an  English  Atlas 


142  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

published  at  Oxford.  Although  he  was  of  a  stubborn 
disposition,  and  churlish  in  his  controversial  discussions, 
this  talent  gained  for  him  powerful  patrons.  In  1714,  he 
was  raised  to  the  Bishopric  of  Carlisle,  from  which,  as  we 
have  seen,  he  was  translated  to  Deny.  This  occurred  in 
1718,  and  he  was  finally  nominated  to  the  Archbishopric  of 
Cashel.  He  died  suddenly  at  Deny  on  the  9th  of 
Februay,  1727.' 

His  principal  works  are  the  English  Historical  Library,2 
and  the  Scottish  Historical  Library.3 

AS   A   CRITIC    ON   COLGAN. 

Before  quoting  Nicholson's  criticism  of  Colgan's  works, 
it  has  been  considered  only  justice  to  both  to  give  the 
above  short  outline  of  Nicholson,  who  styles  the  Historia 
Ecclcsiastica  Gentis  Sanctorum,  of  Dempster,  a  "  Book  of 
Piracy",  and  says — "  this  prize  was  retaken  .with  reprisals 
in  abundance  by  John  Colgan,  an  Irish  Friar  Mendicant 
and  Divinity  Lecturer,  in  the  University  of  Louvain,  who 
published  three  large  volumes  of  the  lives  of  some  hundreds 
of  saints  that  are  supposed  to  have  been  born  or  bred  (or  at 
least  to  have  lived  some  years)  in  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland". 

The  knowledge  Nicholson  possessed  of  Colgan's  works 
must  have  been  confusing ;  as  he  says — "the  two  former  of 
these,  though  last  printed,  he  named  the  Triadis  T/tauma- 
turga;,  etc.  Into  these  he  has  transcribed  all  the  (long  and 
short)  lives  that  he  could  meet  with,  either  in  print  or 
manuscript,  which  had  been  written  of  these  three  [Patrick, 

I  Biograpliique   Universelle, 
3  London,  1C9G-1609. 

II  Dublin,  1724. 


CRITICS.  143 

Bridget,  and  Columbkille]  famous  and  cotemporary  saints, 
saving  that  he  has  contented  himself  with  laying  before  his 
readers  seven  or  eight  of  the  most  bulky  of  those  of  St. 
Patrick,  which  were  all  compiled  by  that  Apostle's  own 
disciples,  and  which  (he  verily  believes)  contain  all  that  is 
to  be  found  in  sixty-six  by  other  hands.  His  third  volume  is 
called  Acta  Sanctorum,  etc.  In  this  last  he  has  hooked  in 
most  of  the  holy  men  and  women  in  England  and  Scotland. 
So  that  even  Dempster  himself  could  not  be  more 
intent  on  multiplying  the  Scotch  army  of  saints  and 
martyrs  than  Colgan  of  raising  recruits  for  that  of  his  own 
native  country.  The  reason  that  he  gives  for  this 
augmentation  of  his  forces,  is  because  the  ancient  Martyr- 
ologies  of  Ireland  have  recorded  their  names  as  persons  (of 
both  sexes)  naturalized  here  by  having  parish  churches  and 
other  places  of  religious  worship  dedicated  to  their  sacred 
memories.  On  the  other  hand  he  is  apprehensive  that  his 
countrymen  will  blame  him  for  omitting  the  lives  of  more 
Irish  saints  than  he  has  recorded.  This  charge  he  confesses 
is  just.  But  he  hopes  that  the  infinity  of  their  numbers, 
the  multiplicity  of  homonymous  saints,  the  loss  of  many 
antient  memoirs,  and  his  own  exile  in  foreign  parts,  will  be  as 
just  an  apology  upon  all  the  three  tomes.  The  publisher 
has  obliged  us  with  very  useful  notes  ;  which  explain  the 
many  mistaken  and  corrupted  names  of  men  and  places  where- 
with writings  of  this  kind  do  generally  abound.  For  the 
copyers  of  them  being  more  intent  on  the  preservation  of 
the  miraculous  acts  of  their  countrymen  than  of  the 
antiquities  of  their  country,  take  least  care  of  the  most 
valuable  part  of  their  work  !  "' 
1  Irish  Hist.  Lib.,  pp.  84-85. 


144 


INIS-OWEN  AND    TIRCONNELL. 
THE   LONG   TOWER,    DERRY. 


Having  finished  Bishop  Nicholson's  criticisms  of  Colgan's 
works,  we  now  present  a  view  and  description  of  The  Long 
Tower  of  Deny. 

Both  may  possess  some  interest  for  those  of  our  Inis- 
Owen  readers  who  are  connected  with  Derry. 


The  Long  Tower  is  a  place  of  sacred  memories  to  many, 
and  a  reproduction  of  the  outline  of  the  Irish  Round  Tower 
that  gave  its  name  to  this  locality  will  afford  sufficient  scope 
for  reflection. 

To  all  whose  recollections  of  the  traditions  of  the  place, 
extend  to  the  time  of  their  earliest  associations,  this  notice 
of  the  Tower  that  stood  on  the  site  of  the  despoiled 


CRITICS.  145 

monastery  of  St.  Columkille,  in  Deny  of  the  Oaks,  will 
bring  back  we  hope,  a  pleasing  remembrance. 

To  the  younger  generation,  for  whom  The  Long  Tower 
is  but  a  name,  it  may  interest  them  to  learn,  that  the  Tower 
from  which  the  present  oldest  Catholic  Church  of  Derry 
derives  its  popular  title,  was  one  of  those  Irish  Round 
Towers  that  withstood  the  storms  of  centuries.  Its  shadow 
is  still  reflected  in  its  name,  which  in  all  human  proba- 
bility is  likely  to  remain  attached  to  the  place,  so  long  as  the 
name  of  Derry  exists. 

"At  Londonderry  the  tower  was  placed  upon  an 
excavated  mound  vaulted  and  built  with  stone.  This 
building  was  only  35  feet  high,  apparently  the  lowest  of 
all  the  Irish  Round  Towers,  and  is  in  perfect  preservation, 
having  a  remarkably  high  conical  roof.  It  is  said  to  stand 
near  the  spot  where  Columba  planted  a  monastery.  The 
vault  is  so  well  built  and  was  times  in  so  perfect  a  state 
that  it  is  used  as  an  ice-house".1 

The  Rev.  George  V.  Sampson,  gives  a  plate  of  the  Long 
Tower,  anciently  erected  near  to  the  Monastery  and  Church 
of  St.  Columkille,  he  says — "  some  traces,  however,  of 
the  monastery  were  in  my  memory,  discernible ;  the  well 
is  called  St.  Columbkill's  Well  to  this  day  (1814).  The 
ground  belonging  to  the  Catholic  Chapel,  and  thence 
through  the  Bishop's  Garden,  extending  towards  the  maga- 
zine, was  the  site  of  this  famous  convent".2 

George  Vaughan  Sampson  was  born  in  the  City  of 
Derry,  in  1762,  and  was  author  of  The  Statistical  Survey  of 

1  Essay  on  Architecture  and  Antiquities,  by  L.  C.  Beaufort,  Trans. 
R.I.A.,  vol.  xv.,  pp.  101-24:2 — The  vault  was  an  Irish  AjxAcuU 

-  Survey  of  Londonderry,  by  Rev.  George  Vaughan  Sampson,  p.  217 
London,  18H. 

19 


146  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCOXNELL. 

,i 

Londonderry*  Colonel  Richard  Sampson,  son  of  the  first 
John  Sampson  who  came  to  Ireland  about  1599,  was  in- 
terred in  Fahan  graveyard  in  1652  ;  the  name  of  Vaughan 
was  brought  into  the  Sampson  family,  by  intermarriage 
with  the  Vaughans  formerly  of  Buncrana  Castle.  The  first 
John  Vaughan  came  also  to  Ireland  in  1599,  and  was 
knighted  in  1616. 

LENGLET  DD  FRESNO Y. 

The  critic  who  exceeded  the  bounds  of  moderation  in 
condemnation  of  Colgan's  works,  was  one  Nicholas  Lenglet 
Fresnoy,  who  was  born  at  Beauvais,  5th  October,  1674. 
As  a  scholar  educated  at  Paris,  at  the  age  of  '22  in  his 
second  year  of  theology,  he  made  his  first  contribution 
to  literature,  which  he  followed  by  others  on  analogues. 
Circumstances  divorced  him  from  theological  studies,  and 
cast  him  into  a  diplomatic  career.  He  was  secretary  in 
1705,  for  the  decipherment  of  Latin  and  French  at  the 
Court  of  Joseph  Clement  of  Bavaria,  Elector  of  Cologne, 
then  residing  at  Lisle.  Being  in  this  town  when  taken 
by  Prince  Eugene,  Lenglet  asked  and  obtained  a  pass- 
port over  all  the  electoral  commune.  His  position  gave  him 
an  opportunity  of  thwarting  some  of  the  enemies  of  France. 
His  most  important  information,  as  told  by  Michault : 
"  was  his  discovery  that  a  commander  of  Mons  was  to 
deliver  up  the  gates  of  the  city  to  the  enemies ;  by  which 
not  only  the  town  of  Lisle  would  fall  into  their  hands, 
but  the  Electors  of  Cologne  and  Bavaria,  who  had  retired 
here". 

i  Published  in  1S02. 


CRITICS.  147 

AS    A    SPY. 

In  1718,  lie  had  another  mission  entrusted  to  him  by 
the  ministry  of  a  very  delicate  nature,  in  connection 
•with  the  conspiracy  of  Cellamare,1 — It  is  said  he  only 
undertook  the  mission,  on  being  assured  that  none  of  those 
he  discovered  would  be  punished  with  death. 

It  was  in  the  apparent  position  of  a  sheep  among 
wolves ;  in  other  words,  as  a  spy,  he  was  placed  in  the 
Bastile  during  the  month  of  September  1718,  accused  of 
having  fabricated  in  the  name  of  the  parliament  a  memorial 
to  the  Due  de  Maine.  This  was  his  first  time  to  dwell  in 
prison,  although  he  has  been  credited  with  other  consign- 
ments there  to  the  number  of  at  least  a  dozen.  The  Abbe 
Lenglet  was  conducted  to  the  Bastile  for  the  second  time 
in  1725,  for  the  third  time  in  1743,  for  the  fourth  time  in 
1750,  on  account  of  his  Historical  Calendar,  and  for  the 
fifth  and  last  recorded  time,  in  1751. 

It  is  with  no  desire  to  do  injustice  to  Colgan's  critics, 
thatdetails  of  their  career  are  recounted,  but  to  enable 
the  reader  to  arrive  at  a  disinterested  conclusion. 

AS   A   WRITER. 

On  the  occasion  of  Lenglet's  last  imprisonment,  it  was  on 
account  of  an  insolent  letter  he  had  written  to  the  comp- 
troller-general. His  life  was  very  much  involved  in  political 
intrigue.  In  1721,  he  went  to  Vienna,  where  he  saw  J.  B. 
Rousseau  and  Prince  Eugene.  His  sojourn  in  Austria  gave 
offence  to  the  French  Court,  and  on  his  return,  in  1723,  he 
1  CVllaniare,  Tom.  vii,  pp.  502-503. 


148  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

was  arrested  and  kept  six  months  in  the  citadel  of  Strasburg. 
In  1724,  he  was  for  some  time  confined  in  Vincennes,  but 
all  these  obstacles  did  not  prevent  him  from  work  and 
research.  His  copious  writings  have  been  an  astonishment. 
—  Michault  says — "  He  had  been  in  possession  of  a  most 
unhappy  destiny,  according  to  the  ordinary  mode  of  thought, 
but  not  so  according  to  his  own ;  his  patrons  were 
powerful  if  he  had  profited  by  the  happy  circumstances  of 
his  life  which  his  merit  and  services  would  have  secured  to 
him.  But  his  love  for  ideal  independence  stifled  in  his 
heart  the  voice  of  ambition.  He  wished  to  write,  to  think, 
to  act,  and  to  live  without  restraint.  He  refused  to  ally 
himself  to  any  party,  either  to  Prince  Eugene,  Cardinal 
Passionei,  or  to  the  Minister  of  War,  M.  Leblanc — Liberty  ! 
always  liberty — such  was  his  particular  motto". 

His  ideal  was  to  live  in  the  past — in  his  studies  he 
imitated  the  ancient  Gothic  language.  "  I  wish",  he  said — 
"  to  be  a  free  Gaul  in  my  style,  and  my  actions" — In  spite 
of  his  vast  learning  he  fell  into  the  greatest  errors  when  he 
was  pressed  by  some  particular  motive.  He  is  accused  of 
writing  what  was  contrary  to  his  thoughts,  and  against  what 
he  knew  to  be  the  truth. 

In  his  notes  and  in  the  manner  of  his  judgment  is  to  be 
found  the  satirical  bitterness  of  another  well-known  French 
writer,  Guy  Patin,  and  as  nothing  could  blunt  the  keenness, 
of  his  pen,  we  see  him  incessantly  fighting  with  the  critics. 
For  some  years  he  applied  himself  to  chemistry ;  and  it  has 
been  said  that  he  was  in  search  of  the  philosopher's  stone. 

He  lived  to  the  age  of  eighty-two  years,  and  died  on 
the  16th  January,  1755.  Returning  home  in  the  evening 
he  took  a  new  book  to  read,  falling  asleep,  he  fell  into  the 


JOHN   TOLAND.  149 

fire,  and  was  only  discovered  when  it  was  too  late.  His 
writings  extend  over  twenty-five  volumes,  covering  from 
1696  to  1754.' 

The  work  in  which  Lenglet  attacks  Colgan  is  one 
wherein  he  offers  instruction  to  Bibliophiles  on  the  value 
of  the  works  of  the  principal  historians.  After  quoting  the 
title  of  Colgan's  work,  he  adds — "  Filled  with  fables,  and 
impertinences,  a  veritable  work  of  an  ignorant  monk".2 


XVII. 

JOHN  TOLAND. 

Inis-Owen,  towards  the  end  of  the  seventeenth  century 
produced  an  "Author  by  profession",  if  the  production  of 
nearly  fifty  publications  may  be  considered  a  standard.3 

John  Toland,  according  to  various  biographers,  was  born 
at  Muff,4  Londonderry,5  Eskaheen,0  or  Redcastle,7  80th 
November,  1670.  The  traditions  in  Inis-Owen,  however, 
distinctly  point  to  Anagh  or  Ardagh,  in  the  parish  of 
of  Clonmany,  as  being  his  birth-place.  It  is  only  in  this 
district  that  his  name  is  locally  remembered. 

1  Biographic  Universelle. 

2  Methode  pour  etudier  FHisioire,  avec   un  catalogue  de  principaux  his. 
tor  lens,  1713. 

3  Isaac  Disraeli's  Calamities  of  Authors,  London,  1859. 

*  Ware's  Irish  Writers,  17^i.  5  Allibone's  Dictionary  oj  Authors. 
6  WeWs  Irish  Biography,  Dublin,  1878.  7  II offer's  Biography  Generate. 
Waller's  Universal  Biography. 


150  INIS-OWEN  AND   T1RCONNELL. 

The  Eev.  Philip  O'Doherty  of  Carn-Donagh  has 
recently  collected  from  a  well-informed  resident  of  Inis- 
Owen,  all  the  traditional  information  available  on  the  sub- 
ject of  Toland's  birth-place.  Daniel  Harkin  related  to  him 
that  thirty  years  ago,  a  woman  of  Ardmalin,  then  aged 
about  seventy,  whose  maiden  name  was  Toland,  and  who 
was  born  in  Clonmany,  tearfully  told  him,  she  had  often 
heard  her  father  and  grandfather  say  that  Toland,  who  had 
belonged  to  their  family,  "had  left  the  country,  given  up  his 
religion,  and  had  written  against  it".  The  late  Rev.  Neal 
Devine,  P.P.  of  Cumber  Upper  and  Learmount,  (when  he 
was  curate  in  Donagh,  from  which  he  removed  in  1856)  had 
in  Mr.  Harldn's  presence  interrogated  one  Michael  Toland, 
then  an  old  man,  a  native  of  Ardagh  in  Clonmany,  about  the 
recollections  there  extant  concerning  John  Toland.  Michael 
said  he  had  often  heard  him  spoken  of  as  GO^AH  n<\leAb<jq\ 
(Owen  of  the  books);  which  name  it  was  said  he  obtained 
from  having  fallen  asleep  when  herding  cattle,  and  on 
awakening  found  that  a  book  had  been  mysteriously  placed 
under  his  head.  Michael  Toland  at  the  same  time  related 
the  tradition  of  a  controversial  encounter  that  occurred 
between  a  Father  Sheils  of  that  time  and  Toland. 

The  mode  of  controversy  was  that  each  in  turn  was  to  put 
a  question,  and  receive  an  answer  from  his  opponent.  Father 
Sheils  put  his  question  first ;  Toland's  reply  was  such  that  the 
priest  exclaimed  "11i  peAj\  A  l,Ab]u\f  ACC  An  'thAboA,",  i.e., 
"T'isnot  a  man  that  speaks,  but  the  devil''. 

JANUS  JUNIUS. 

The  hitherto  accepted  story,  dependant  on,  and  rendered 


JOHN  TOLAND.  151 

possible  by  himself — is  the  name  said  to  have  been  given 
to  Toland  at  his  baptism 

It  is  stated  by  his  biographers,  that  his  parents  were 
Catholics — this  is  no  doubt  correct,  and  that  he  was 
baptized  Janus  Junius,  a  name  changed  afterwards  by  his 
schoolmaster  to  John,  in  order  to  obviate  the  ridicule 
bestowed  on  him  every  morning  at  roll-call,  by  his  school- 
fellows. 

The  only  recorded  instance  where  Toland  used  this  name, 
is  in  the  preface  to  his  most  objectionable  work,  a  Latin 
tract  entitled  Pantheisticon,  a  work  descriptive  of  what  some 
have  considered  an  atheistical  society.  There  he  sub- 
scribes himself  Janus  Junius  Eoganesius. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  point  out  to  any  person  conversant 
with  the  religious  feelings  of  Catholics  in  Inis-Owen, 
the  utter  improbability  of  a  Catholic  priest  baptizing  a  child 
by  the  name  of  Janus  Junius,  if  even  asked  to  bestow  such 
a  name  by  its  godfather. 

The  more  probable  explanation  would  appear  to  be,  that 
Toland  was  baptized  Joannes  Eugenius — the  Latin  render- 
ing of  the  Irish  names  Shane  Owen. 


JOINS    THE    ENGLISH   PARTY. 

Toland  must  have  been  proficient  in  the  Irish  Language, 
before  joining  the  English  party,  who  intended  him  to  be- 
come a  divine,  and  no  doubt  an  instrument  in  the  reclaiming 
of  Inis-Owen  from  Catholicity.1  He  speaks  of  the  Irish 

1  Ware's  Irish  Writert,  p.  274,  (17G4.) 


152  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

text  of  a  MS.  being  as  easy  to  himself,  as  the  Pater  nosier 
could  be  to  Father  Simon.1 

A  noticeable  feature,  in  the  only  tract  written  by  Toland, 
in  which  he  refers  to  Irish  authorities,  is,  that  though  he 
quotes  Nicholson,  Bishop  of  Deny,  O'Flaherty,  Ussher, 
Stonehurst,  Scotus,  Buchanan,  Bedc,  and  even  pointedly, 
•when  referring  to  Lough  Derg,  says — "This  Patrick's 
Purgatory  being  in  the  county  where  I  was  born" — he 
never  mentions  the  name  of  John  Colgan,  who  was  born  in 
the  next  parish  to  himself. 

It  is  stated,  that  in  his  sixteenth  year  (1686)  he  became  a 
zealous  Protestant,  and  bade  fair  to  become  a  dissenting 
divine,  later  in  life  though  at  times  still  professing  to  be  a 
Christian,  he  figured  as  a  Pantheist,  and  an  enemy  to  all 
revealed  religion.  He  was  provided  for  by  his  English 
patrons  at  the  Universities  of  Glasgow,  Edinburgh,  and 
Ley  den.2 

AS   A   POLITICAL    SPY. 

During  his  career,  Toland  like  another  du  Fresnoy,  played 
the  role  of  political  spy.  At  the  courts  of  Hanover  and 
Vienna,  he  endeavoured  to  obtain  for  a  French  banker 
of  Amsterdam,  the  title  of  count  of  the  empire.  He  went 
to  the  Continent  in  1707,  on  this  singular  mission,  which 
lie  had  solicited  from  his  chief  patron  Harley,  the  English 
minister,  to  whom  ho  rendered  a  secret  account  of  all  he 
could  learn  at  the  foreign  courts.3 

1  Author  of  tho  Btblioilieque  Critique. 

3  Toland's  Nazarenus,  Letter  II.  p.  27,  London,  1718. 

3  Allibone's  Dictionary  of  English  Literature,  vol.  iii,  London,  1871 


JOHN   TOLAND.  153 

Toland  applied  and  obtained  from  three  Irish  Franciscans 
— no  doubt  natives  of  Inis-Owen  or  Tirconnell,  who  were 
then  (1708)  at  the  Irish  Convent  of  Prague,  a  certificate 
that  vouched  for  his  parentage,  they  certifying — "  That  he 
was  sprung  from  a  genteel,  honourable,  and  ancient  family 
which  had  nourished  in  the  peninsula  of  Inis-Owen".1 

It  was  Toland  who  attended  the  Earl  of  Macclesfield  to 
Hanover,  whither  the  Eail  was  sent  with  the  Act  settling 
the  succession  of  the  Crown  of  England  on  the  Princess 
Sophia  and  her  heirs,  being  Protestant;  Toland  presented 
his  Anglia  Libera,  or  the  "  Limitation  and  Succession  of  the 
Crown  of  England  explained  and  asserted",2  to  the  Princess 
and  was  the  first  on  that  occasion,  who  had  the  honour 
of  kneeling  and  kissing  her  hand,  being  in  a  particular 
manner  recommended  to  her  highness  by  the  British  ambas- 
sador. 

His  Christianity  not  Mysterious,  published  in  16 15,  had 
been  condemned  by  the  Irish  House  of  Commons  to  be 
publicly  burnt,  and  it  was  declared  by  the  Grand  Jury 
of  Middlesex  to  be ''  a  piece  of  evil  and  dangerous  tendency". 

When  Toland  arrived  in  Ireland  the  following  year  his 
prosecution  and  arrest  were  ordered,  which  he  only  escaped 
by  flight. 

Toland  was  accused  of  an  intention  to  form  a  sect  of  his 
own ;  many  were  stigmatized  "Tolandists";  but  the  disciples 
of  a  prophet,  says  the  elder  Disraeli,  who  devotes  a  chapter 
to  Toland,  "  who  never  procured  for  him  a  bit  of  dinner  or 

1  Hoefer's  Nouvelle  Bioyraphie  Generate,  vol.  45,  pp.  469-471,  Paris, 
1866. 

z  Toland's,  AnyUa  Liber  a,  London,  1701. 

20 


154  IXIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

new  wig—  for  he  was  frequently  wanting  both — were  not 
to  be  feared  as  enthusiasts". 

Resting  from  the  warfare  of  theology,  Janus  turned 
his  political  face ;  and  as  Christianity  not  Mysterious  had 
stamped  his  religion  with  something  worse  than  heresy, 
so  in  politics,  he  was  branded  as  a  commonwealth  man.1 
He  loved  controversy,  and  belonged  to  the  type  of 
Hibernian  geniuses  described  by  Le  Sage,  who  loved  to 
hold  philosophical  disputes  about  this  period  on  the  Con- 
tinent.2 

A  summary  of  Toland's  character,  clearly  illustrates  the 
certain    danger  that  exists,    when  once  the    ship    is  left 
drifting  away  from  her  moorings,  without  helm  or  guide, 
she  invariably  hastens  on  to  destruction ;  Disraeli  says — 
"The  genius  of  Toland  could  descend  into  literary  quackery, 
the  absence   of  moral  integrity   was  probably  never  dis- 
guised by  the  loquacious  vanity  of  this  literary  adventurer''. 
Toland  composed  his  own  epitaph  in  Latin,  which  con- 
tains the  story  of  his  vanity  "  omnium  litterarum  excultor,  ac 
linguarum  plus  decem  sciens,  veritatis  pro  pugnatur,  libcrta. 
tis  assertor,  nullius  autem  sectator  aut  cliens''  etc. — <;  versed 
in    all  literature,  and  skilled  in  more  than  ten   languages, 
the  champion  of  truth,  the  advocate    of  liberty,  but    the 
follower  or  dependant  of  none".  —  He  died  in  an  '"obscure 
lodging  over    a  carpenter's  shop  at    Putney,  llth  March 
1722.     On  being  asked  when  dying  if  he  wanted  anything 
he  replied — "I  desire  but  death".3 


1  Ware's  Writers  of  Ireland,  Book  1  p.  275. 

'-'  Le  Sage's  Gil-Bias,  chap.  1.  Paris,  1715. 

3  Isaac  Disraeli's  Calamities  of  Authors,  London,  18j9. 


TBE   DONAGH   CROSS.  (Kist  Face.)1 

1  Proceedinys  1M.A  ,  3rd  ser.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  103. 


XVIII. 

CHARLES  MACKLIN. 

Charles  MacLaughlin,  or  as  he  is  better  known  by  the 
name  which  he  adopted  of  Charles  Macklin,  occupied 
during  a  part  of  his  career  an  important  place  on  the  Eng- 
lish stage,  as  an  actor  and  dramatist.1 

He  has  been  variously  described  as  an  English  comic 
actor,  and  author.  Like  Toland,  he  has  had  ascribed  to  him 
many  birthplaces,  Westmeath  and  Londonderry.  It  is 
stated  his  father  was  a  Presbyterian,  but  we  have  no 
authority  for  this  assumption ;  that  his  mother  was  a  Catholic 
there  exists  no  doubt.  It  is  also  stated  that  at  the  siege  of 
Deny  three  of  his  uncles  were  on  the  "Williamite  side  ;  and 
by  way  of  preserving  his  mixed  origin,  three  others  equal  in 
kinship  were  on  the  side  of  the  besiegers.2 

This  tracing  of  his  people  to  the  vicinity  of  Deny 
bears  out  the  local  traditions.  Lewis,  in  his  Topographical 
Dictionary,  gives  Culdaffin  Inis-Owen  as  the  place  of  his 
birth.  The  Rev.  Edward  Chichester,  A.M.,  writing  in  1815, 
comparatively  a  short  time  after  Macklin's  death,  in  his 
Statistical  Account  of  the  parishes  of  Culdaff  and  Cloncha 
says — "  It  has  been  said  by  some  that  Macklin  the  celeb- 
rated comedian  was  a  native  of  the  parish  Culdaff.''8 

1  Memoirs  of  the  Life  of  Charlis  AfacUin,  by  James  Thomas  Kirkman. 
rols.  1  and  2,  London,  1799. 

*  Webb's   Compendium  of  Irish  Biograjily,  page  314. 

3  Mason's  Parochial  Survey  of  Irehniil,  vol.  11, 'page  170,  JDMin,  1 816 


CHARLES   MACKLIN.  157 

From  Chichester's  intimate  knowledge  of  the  district  this 
testimony  becomes'the  more  valuable. 

5o]\CAij\ne  (Gortairne,  i.e.,  the  field  of  the  sloes),  border- 
ing on  Cloncha,  in  the  parish  of  Culdaff,  in  Inis-Owen;  is 
the  traditionally  recognized  birth  place  of  Macklin.  The 
Rev.  Philip  O'Doherty  has  recently  investigated  the  local 
traditions  on  the  spot,  they  all  point  to  this  particular  place, 
and  harmonize  "with  the  earlier  notices  of  Lewis  and 
Chichester. 

Kirkman  in  his  Memoirs,  which  were  compiled  chiefly 
from  papers  and  memoranda  left  by  Macklin,  says — 
"  Few  subjects  have  been  canvassed  with  more  confidence, 
and  at  the  same  time  been  less  known,  or  understood,  than 
the  origin  of  Mr.  Macklin.  No  sooner  had  he  by  the  in- 
defatigable exertion  of  many  years  emerged  from  that 
obscurity  to  which  the  rigour  of  fortune  and  the  pre- 
judices of  an  illiberal  world  had  endeavoured  to  consign 
him,  and  raised  himself  up  to  the  public  notice  and  appro- 
bation, than  curiosity  was  busily  employed  in  the  enquiry 
of  'who  he  was?  and  whence  he  was  descended?'  as  if  to 
measure  his  title  to  the  favour  and  applause  he  received  by 
the  rank  and  quality  of  his  progenitors".1 

Macklin  it  appears  gave  no  information  on  this  subject, 
and  surmises  Avere  received  as  the  assertions  of  truth. 
However,  MacLaughlin  could  not  be  cast  aside  or  hidden 
away  without  some  trace  of  his  Irish  name  and  origin 
remaining,  and  no  doubt  to  account  for  his  Irish  birth  and 
descent,  as  related  by  Kirkman,  Macklin  pressed  into  his 
service  some  of  the  talent  he  had  derived  from  his  race,  and 

1  Kirkman's  Memoirs,  vol.  1,  page  G. 


158  INIS-OWEN  AND    TIRCONNELL. 

his  early  contact  with  the  vigorous  air  of  the  Inis-0\ven 
mountains.  Why  not  make  his  story,  like  his  dramatic 
works,  the  creation  of  his  own  imagination,  and  thereby 
gratify  the  curiosity  of  his  English  acquaintances,  who 
wanted  to  know  who  he  was,  and  who  were  his  ancestors? 

Kirkman,  from  the  "  memorandums  and  anecdotes 
contributed  principally  by  Macklin  himself"  tells  us,  that 
both  on  the  father  and  on  the  mother's  side,  Macklin's 
progenitors  were  highly  respectable  people,  that  his 
grandfather,  Terence  MacLaughlin,  inherited  an  handsome 
landed  property  from  an  old  stock  of  gentry,  from  which 
he  was  descended.  There  cannot  be  any  doubt  about 
the  respectablity  or  the  descent  of  the  Clan  MacLaughlin 
of  Inis-owen.  Terence  MacLaughlin's  property  is  stated 
to  have  been  in  the  County  of  Down,  and  that  Macklin's 
grandmother  was  one  Anne  O'Kelly,  the  daughter  of  a 
family  of  considerable  wealth  in  the  County  of  Galway.1 

Family  pride  it  is  stated  ran  high  in  Ireland  during  this 
period,  so  William  MacLaughlin  (Macklin's  father),  the 
eldest  son  of  Terence,  not  only  inherited  the  family  estate 
but  an  increased  dowry  in  consequence  of  having  married 
Alice  O'Flanugan,  daughter  of  John  O'Flanagan,  of 
Blackcastle  in  the  County  Westmeatb,  who  was  its 
proprietor;  as  well  as  a  large  estate  that  lay  around  it. 
O' Flanagan's  son  was  married  to  a  daughter  of  John 
Shaw  of  Somerstown,  a  considerable  territorial  magnate 
in  the  County  of  Meath, 

This  descent  had  surely  a  sufficient  title  to  respectability 
to  satisfy  even  English  curiosity. 

1  Kirkman's  Memoirs,  page  9. 


CHARLES   MACKLIN.  150 

Macklin's  father  must  have  been  a  warrior,  as  it  is  said 
he  commanded  a  troop  of  horse  in  King  James  the  Second's 
army.1  Kirkman,  verifying  "  that  as  far  as  oral  tradition 
can  be  credited,  was  not  only  distinguished  for  valour  but 
for  a  share  of  skill  and  conduct  not  common  in  the  Irish 
part  of  King  James'  army.  "  To  the  loyalty  and  zeal  of 
William  MacLaughlin  in  the  cause  of  his  king,  we  are 
told,  the  public  are  indebted  for  the  son  having  been  re- 
duced to  the  necessity  of  embracing  the  profession  of  an 
actor. 

Charles  MacLaughlin  was  born  on  the  first  day  of  May, 
1690,  and  died  at  London,  llth  July,  1797.  The  Bio- 
graphie  Universelle  says — "  The  place  and  the  date  of  his 
birth  we  know  not",  and  this  corresponds  with  the 
information  about  the  date  of  his  birth  collected  by 
Kirkman,  who  ascertained,  not  from  Macklin  himself,  but 
from  his  Avidow,  Mrs.  Elizabeth  Macklin,  that  one  Mary 
Millar,  a  servant,  told  how  she  had  been  in  service  with 
Macklin's  mother  during  the  minority  of  Charles,  and  that 
atatoocdmark  on  her  arm  in  gun  powder  recording  her 
own  age  had  been  frequently  seen  by  Mrs.  Macklin  during 
the  time  she  was  serving  her  in  Dublin.  This  has  2,'iven 

c  o 

Macklin's  biographers  ground-work  for  the  date  of  his 
birth  as  occurring  "  two  months  previous  to  the  battle  of 
the  Boyne".2 

It  is  stated  that  after  passing  his  childhood  in  the  surburbs 
of  Drogheda  (perhaps  on  the  O'Flanagan  estate  ?)  Mac 
Laughlin  fled  to  England,  where  at  the  age  of  fifteen  he 


i  \Yc  cannot  find_his  name  in  D' Alton's  list. 
-  Kirkman's  Memoirs,  vol.  I,  pages  11  to  14. 


160  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

espoused  the  widow  of  an  innkeeper.  Having  been  brought 
back  to  Dublin,  he  joined  the  Island  Bridge  Academy,  where 
from  his  mischievous  tendencies  he  was  nicknamed  Charles 
a  TDAtltujjIice  (not  Mollwchth,  as  Kirkman  has  it),  or, 
wicked  Charley". 

Macklin  seems  to  have  been  blessed  with  military  friends. 
Captain  OTlanagan,  of  the  German  army,  his  mother's 
brother,  promised  Macklin  a  commission  if  he  would 
join  that  service.  But  his  genius  flowed  in  the  direction 
of  a  more  peaceful  stream,  and  whilst  O'Flanagan  was 
takino-  leave  of  Macklin  in  London,  Charles  formed  the 

O  ' 

idea  of  joining  a  company  of  strollers,  with  whom,  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one,  he  went  on  tour  playing  the  part  of 
clown  instead  of  joining  the  ranks  of  the  Germans  with 'j  his 
uncle  O'Flanagan.1 

Charles  Mac  Laughlin's  father  died  in  1 704,  his  mother 
afterwards  became  Mrs.  O'Mealley,  wife  of  a  tavern-keeper 
in  Werburgh- street,  Dublin,  who  having  let  that  estab- 
lishment, went  to  reside  at  an  inn  in  Cloncurry,  about 
eighteen  miles  from  Dublin. 

Charles  having  returned  to  Dublin  in  order  to  improve 
his  education  at  college,  constantly  visited  his  mother  in  the 
country,  leaving  Dublin  every  Saturday  he  attended 
Mass  on  Sunday,  returning  on  Monday  to  college.  His 
biographer  says — "it  was  on  these  occasions  she  was 
accustomed  to  use  her  eloquence  to  establish  Popery  in  her 
son's  heart,  who  on  his  part  listened  with  respecful  atten- 
tion, and  agreed  to  every  thing  she  said,  though  he  had 
after  declared  her  arguments  were  of  so  extravagant  a 

O  Q 

1  Kirkrnan's  Memmrs,  page  24  to  48, 


CHATILES   MACKLIN.  161 

nature  that  it  required  all  his  filial  reverence  to  prevent 
him  from  laughing".1 

Macklin  having  repaired  to  England  at  the  age  of  twenty- 
six  ceased  to  follow  his  mother's  teaching,  yet  to  his  great 

o '   J  o 

credit  it  is  told  by  Kirkman — "  that  to  the  last  day  of  her 
life  he  loved  his  mother  almost  to  idolatry". 

At  Bristol,  Mac  Laughlin  made  his  first  appearance  on 
the  stage  in  the  character  of  Richard  11  /.,  the  bills  an- 
nouncing the  performance  were  not  even  printed,  but  in 
manuscript.  His  Irish  brogue  was  his  difficulty,  it  betrayed 
his  country,  and  stuck  to  him  for  a  long  time  ;  thereby 
keeping  him  attached  to  itinerant  actors,  longer  than  he 
desired.  A  Welsh  clergyman,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Davis  (whose 
wife  was  an  English  lady),  undertook  to  cure  him  of  his 
brogue,  and  to  teach  him  "  beautiful  English".  At  Mr. 
Davis's  house  he  remained  six  months.  His  Irish  origin  also 
told  against  him,  and  it  was  with  evident  uphill  workhe  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  recognized ;  it  was  not  till  173  \  that  he  was 
enabled  to  make  his  way  from  the  provinces  to  London. 

Owen  Swiney  (a  Tirconnellian  name),  was  at  this 
time  manager  of  the  company  at  the  Haymarket  Theatre, 
and  was  also  appointed  sole  director  of  the  Italian  Opera,  the 
actors  going  to  Drury  Lane.  Swiney  having  been  opposed 
by  Collier,  became  so  embarassed,  that  he  was  forced  into 
exile  for  twenty  years,  followed  by  the  affections  of  all  who 
knew  him.  MacLaughlin  now  fell  by  accident  into  comic 
parts  which  offered  an  opening  for  the  expression  of  public 
opinion,  which  gave  him  the  character  of  a  funny  fellow. 
He  went  by  the  name  of ''The  Wild  Irishman". 

On  one  occasion  having  been  reprimanded  by  the  actor 

1  Memoirs,  page  54. 

21 


162  INIS-OWEN   AND   TTRCONNELL. 

Quin,  he  said  he  would  not  disturb  him  in  his  acting,  but 
he  would  "  shear  off  a  little  himself,"  Quin  was  a  surly 
fellow,  the  tyrant  of  the  theatre ;  having  thrown  some 
chewed  apple  in  Macklin's  face,  the  latter  pummelled  him 
in  the  green-room,  for  which  he  never  forgave  Macklin. 
It  was  Quin  who  used  to  say  "  if  God  writes  a  legible  hand 
that  fellow  is  a  villain",  Macklin's  patience  with  Quin  was 
a  matter  of  general  surprise.1 

Macklin  was  called  the  "  Venerable  Jew",  on  account  of 
the  perfection  with  which  he  delineated  that  Shakesperian 
character.  It  was  about  this  time  Charles  MacLaughlin 
conceived  the  idea  to  change  his  name  to  Macklin:— his 
biographer  says  "  on  finding  his  original  name  rather  diffi- 
cult to  be  pronounced  by  Englishmen". 

His  Irish  relative  called  at  Macklin's  lodgings  in  London, 
and  inquired  if"  Charley  McLaughlin  was  within".  "Charley 
who  ?"  said  the  astonished  landlady.  "  Why  my  relative, 
Charley  McLaughlin", — said  the  Irishman.  "  Well  then,  my 
honey,  if  Charley  MacLaughlin  is  not  within,  would  you  tell 
him,  when  you  see  him,  that  his  ould  friend,  Phil  Flanagan, 
called  on  him".  Macklin  hearing  Phil's  voice,  called  him 
up,  and  the  landlady  immediately  accused  them  both  for  a 
pair  of  swindlers, — as  no  honest  man  would  pass  with  two 
names.  Macklin  however  explained  that  Macklin  was 
only  the  English  for  MacLaughlin.2 

Many  efforts  were  made  to  drive  Macklin  from  the  stage 
which  he  quitted  in  1753.     An  organized  conspiracy,  led 
by  one  Clark,  having  been  brought  before  Justice  Aston 
and  a  jury,  Clark  was  found  guilty  of  riot,  and  the  remain- 

1  Memoirs,  page  143. 
'  Ib id,  pag«  166. 


CHARLES   MACKLIN.  163 

der  of  the  defendants  guilty  of  the  whole  information.  In 
1767,  Macklin  returning  to  London  from  Dublin,  brought 
out,  November  28th,  his  True  Born  Irishman,  under  the 
new  title  of  The  Irish  Fine  Lady,  Macklin  performing 
the  part  of  Murrogh  O'Dohertj,  and  his  daughter  the  part 
of  Mrs.  O'Doherty,  familiar  names  surrounding  his  Jnis- 
Owen  homestead  were  evidently  often  before  his  mind ! 
His  mother,  Mrs.  O'Meally,  died  at  the  venerable  age  of 
ninety-nine  years,  and  was  buried  at  Cloncurry. 

Macklin  abandoned  the  stage  for  a  period,  and  in  1754 
opened  a  tavern,  which  on  certain  days,  became  "  a  school 
of  good  taste  and  declamation",  where  he  professed,  and 
where  he  appeared  in  theatrical  costume.  This  undertaking 
ended  in  failure,  when  he  took  to  the  stage  again,  playing 
at  Drury  Lane  and  Co  vent  Garden,  and  only  left  off  after 
seventy  years  of  service. 

In  1789,  he  bid  his  farewell  to  the  public  in  the  character 
of  Shylock,  a  part  which  he  had  made  his  own;  so  perfect 
indeed  was  his  rendering  of  this  character,  that  he  was  known 
in  theatrical  circles  "As  the  Jew  that  Shakespeare  drew". 
On  this  occassion,  the  loss  of  his  memory  prevented  him 
from  bringing  the  performance  to  a  close.  He  died  at  the 
age  of  107  years,  and  was  buried  in  St.  Paul's  Cathedral. 

MACKLIN'S  DRAMATIC  WORKS. 

Macklin  is  the  author  of  ten  theatrical  pieces,  but  two 
only  have  been  retained  in  the  repertoir,  "  Love-a-la-mode, 
a  farce,  and  "  The  Man  of  the  World,  a  comedy. 

Macklin's  dramatic  works,  and  the  order  of  their 
production,  consisted  of  King  Henry  1th,  a  tragedy 
written  to  suit  the  taste  and  tone  of  the  period.  This  was 


1G4  INIS-OWEX   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

also  entitled  The  Popish  Impostor,  and  was  acted  at  Drury 
Lane,  l£th  January,  1746,  not  printed. 

W 'ill,  or  no  Will,  or,  A  New  Case  for  the  Lawyer,  a 
farce,  acted  at  Drury  Lane,  23rd  April,  1766,  not  printed. 

The  Suspicious  Husband  Criticised,  or,  The  Plague  of 
Envy,  a  farce,  acted  during  the  Drury  Lane  season,  1746-7, 
not  printed. 

The  Club  of  Fortune  Hunters,  or,  The  Widow  Bewitched, 
a  farce  acted,  at  Drury  Lane,  1747,  not  printed. 

Love-a-la-mode,  a  farce  in  two  acts,  and  in  prose,  acted 
at  Drury  Lane,  in  175y,  and  received  with  unbounded 
applause,  published  4to.  A  criticism  on  this  play  has  been 
published  entitled  A  Scotmans  Remarks  on  the  Farce  Love- 
a-la-mode,  scene  by  scene  as  it  is  acted  at  the  Theatre  Royal, 
Drury  Lane.  It  is  a  work  of  no  great  importance.1 

Married  Life,  a  comedy,  acted  at  Covent  Garden  in 
1761,  not  printed. 

The  True  born  Irishman,  a  farce,  first  acted  at  Smock- 
Alley  Theatre,  Dublin,  in  1763,  and  afterwards  at  Covent 
Garden  in  1767,  under  the  new  title  The  Irish  Fine  Lady, 
not  printed. 

The  Man  of  the  World,  a  comedy,  in  five  acts,  in  prose, 
first  acted  at  Crow  Street  Theatre,  Dublin,  in  1772,  under 
the  title  of  The  True  born  Scotchman,  and  afterwards 
presented  at  Covent  Garden,  in  1781,  under  its  present 
title,  printed  4to. 

Macklin  left  behind  him  several  plays  which  have  never 

been  acted,  as  well  as  several  unfinished  pieces.     What  are 

entitled  Authentic  Memoirs  of  Macklin  have  been  published 

by  F.  A.   Congrevc,   also  by  W.  Cooke;  and  Kirkman's 

1  London,  1760. 


MODERN   WRITERS.  1G5 

Memoirs  appears  translated  in  French,  by  F.  G.  J.  S. 
Andrieux,  in  two  volumes.  They  again  appear  dans  de 
Memoir  e»  sur  Vart  dramatique,  par  Defancoupret.  A  Life 
of  Macklin,  claiming  Dublin  as  his  native  city,  has  been 
published.1 

Councillor  Macklin  of  Buncrana,  a  member  of  the  Irish 
Bar,  wrote  a  translation  of  Homer's  Iliad  and  Odyssey 
though  it  was  never  published.  His  father  (whose  name  was 
MacLaughlin)  kept  a  classical  school  in  the  cottage, 
Clarendon  Street,  Deny.  Macklin  the  barrister  became 
a  convert  to  Catholicity  shortly  before  his  death,  leaving  a 
part  of  his  property  to  Dr.  McGettigan,  the  elder  Bishop  of 
Kaphoe,  of  that  name,  and  a  part  to  the  parish  priest  of 
Buncrana  (Monsignor  Kearney)  in  trust  to  be  expended 
on  Cockhill  church,  in  repairs  and  otherwise.2 


XIX. 

MODERN  WRITERS. 

JOSIAS   MACKIE. 

Was  born  in  the  Co.  Donegal,  but  the  date  of  his  birth 
or  the  exact  locality  has  not  been  ascertained.  A  branch  of 
the  Mackeys  settled  early  in  the  17th  century  at  Cashel 
near  Burnfoot,  as  some  mural  slabs  in  Fahan  graveyard 
of  that  period  show.  Josias  Mackie  was  one  among  the 
first  Presbyterian  ministers  who  emigrated  to  the  American 

1  Life  of  Charles  Macklin,  by  Edward  A.  Puny,  London,  1891. 

2  Letter  from  Key.  Philip  O'Doherty,  C.C.,  Moville. 


106  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

colonies.  The  year  of  his  arrival  there  is  unknown,  but 
the  earliest  notice  that  refers  to  him  bears  date  22nd 
January,  16U2.  His  first  congregation  appears  to  have 
been  on  the  Elizabeth  Eiver,  Virginia ;  this  charge  com- 
prised the  eastern  and  western  branch  in  Tamer's  Creek 
precinct,  to  which,  in  1696,  was  added  the  southern  branch. 

Like  many  of  the  early  colonists  he  devoted  his  time  to  a 
pastoral  life,  and  occupied  a  farm  and  store,  in  addition  to 
attending  to  the  religious  and  educational  instruction  of  his 
scattered  congregation.  He  died  in  Virginia,  November, 
1716,  but  no  exact  record  of  his  labours  has  been  preserved.1 

Perhaps  this  notice  may  induce  further  inquiry,  as  most 
of  these  early  colonists  from  Donegal  were  men  of  distinc- 
tion, whose  teaching  began  early  to  form  the  political  future 
of  the  great  Republic  of  the  West. 

ANDBEW   GALBRAITH. 

Among  the  many  settlers  in  Tirconnell  of  Scotch 
descent,  brought  over  by  the  patentees  under  the  scheme 
of  the  Ulster  Plantation,  were  two  brothers,  Hum- 
phrey and  Robert  Galbraith,  who  purchased  the  pro- 
portion of  Corceagh,  (Corkey)  in  the  parish  of  Ramochy\ 
from  the  laird  of  Luss.  James,  who  was  descended  from 
these  Galbraiths,  and  his  son  Andrew,  born  in  the  County 
Donegal,  in  1692,  accompanied  William  Penn,  at  the  date 
of  his  second  visit  to  America,  where  with  other  Scotch 
and  Irish  colonists,  they  settled  at  Lancaster  County, 
Pennsylvania ,  in  1 7 1 7.  Penn's  acquaintance  with  Galbraith's 
family  occurred  during  the  time  he  served  as  aide-de-camp 
to  Lord  Arran  in  the  North  of  Ireland,  about  the  year  1666. 

1  American  Encyclopaedia,  vol.  iv.,  p.  136. 


DUNGANNON   CONVENTIONS.  107 

Andrew  Galbraith  received  on  his  arrival  in  America  a 
patent  for  212  acres  of  land  from  Penn.  He  there  organised 
and  selected  the  site  for  a  Presbyterian  Church,  which  he 
named  the  Donegal  Church,  of  which  he  was  its  first  ruling 
elder.  This  church  was  erected  in  ]  730,  and  occupied  the 
place  of  a  temporary  log  shelter,  that  had  been  constructed 
ten  years  previously. 

Strange  as  it  may  appear,  the  historical  Presbyterian 
Meeting  House  of  Dungannon,  in  which  the  Ulster 
Volunteer  delegates  assembled  on  the  15th  February,  1782, 
was  constructed  in  architectural  outline  almost  identical  with 
that  of  Galbraith's  Donegal  Church  in  Pennsylvania. 


THE    DUNGANNON   CONVENTIONS. 

It  has  been  a  tradition  among  many  that  it  wag  in  the 
Protestant  Church  of  Dungannon,  the  birth  of  Grattan's 
Irish  Parliament  was  decreed  by  the  men  of  Ulster.  Such 
is  not  the  fact.  At  the  time,  Colonel  William  Irvine  pre- 
sided over  the  first  memorable  convention,  there  existed  no 
Protestant  Church  in  Dungannon.  Three  separate  conven- 
tions were  held  in  that  town. 

First, — on  15th  February,  1782,  whereat  the  delegates 
entered  into  the  spirited  resolutions,  that  eventually  resulted 
in  securing  the  independence  of  the  Irish  Parliament. 

Second,  on  the  15th  February,  1793,  when  the  Ulster 
delegates  met  with  William  Sharman,  chairman,  Henry  Joy 
of  Belfast,  and  W.  Armstrong  of  Deny,  as  secretaries. 

Fifteen  resolutions  were  passed  at  this  convention  that 
deserve  to  be  more  generally  known  than  they  are  at 


168  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

present,  as  their  consideration  was  based  on  purely  repre- 
sentative principles. 

The  convention  declared —  We,  the  delegates  of  the  Province 
of  Ulster,  appointed  at  separate  meetings  of  the  counties, 
assembled  at  Dungannon  on  the  anniversary  of  that  day 
which  first  freed  Ireland  from  foreign  legislation  : — being 
fully  acquainted  with  the  sentiments  of  our  particular  districts, 
declare  the  sense  of  the  people  in  the  following  terms, 

Resolved— That  five  persons  from  each  county,  together 
with  the  chairman  and  secretaries,  be  a  committee  for  pre- 
paring resolutions  for  this  meeting. 

Donegal,  was  honoured  in  the  person  of  one  of  its  dele- 
gates, Alexander  Stewart,  Esq.,  of  Letterkenny ,  who  was 
elected  chairman  of  this  provincial  committee. — The  fifteen 
resolutions,  that  were  submitted  on  the  16th  February,  were 
passed  by  the  Convention.  Even  after  the  careful  way 
the  resolutions  were  prepared,  it  must  not  be  inferred  they 
passed  without  criticism.  This  is  shown  by  the  protest  of 
Joseph  Pollock,  who  represented  Newry  at  the  Conven- 
tions, but  who  differed  from  the  majority.1 

THE   RESOLUTIONS. 

The  resolutions  passed,  exhibit  for  that  period  a  very 
advanced  political  intelligence. 

I.  Resolved, — That  we  are  cordially  attached  to  the  form 
and  original  principles  of  the  British  constitution ;  as 
uniting  the  advantages,  and  tempering  the  defects,  of  the 
three  simple  modes  of  government ;  Monarchy,  Aristocracy, 
Democracy. 

1  Letters  to  the  Inhabitants  of  Neirry,  by  Joseph  Pollock,  Dublin,  1793. 


DUNGANNON  RESOLUTIONS.  169 

IF.  Rf solved — That  we  view  with  the  warmest  affection 
and  gratitude  the  paternal  regard  of  our  gracious  Sovereign 
to  his  loyal  subjects  of  this  kingdom,  manifested  in  the 
directing  the  attention  of  parliament  to  the  depressed 
circumstances  of  the  Roman  Catholics  of  Ireland,  and  his 
recommending  the  adoption  of  such  measures  as  may  unite: 
all  orders  of  the  people  in  their  attachment  to  the  consti- 
tution. 

III.  Resolved — That  we  highly  disapprove  of  republican 
forms  of  government  as  applied  to  this  kingdom,  and  we 

reject  with  abhorrence  those  principles  which  have  a 
tendency  to  dissolve  all  government  and  destroy  every 
wise  distinction  of  society. 

IV.  Resolvid — That  it  is  the  constitutional  right  of  the 
people,  and  essential  to  the  very  being  of  their  liberty,    to 
be  fully  and  fairly  represented  in  their  own  House  of  Par- 
liament. 

V.  Resolved — That  the  present  state  of  the  representation 
in  the  House  of  Commons  is  partial  and  inadequate,  sub- 
versive  of  the   rights  of  the  people,    and  an   intolerable 
grievance. 

VI .  Resolved — That  it  appears  to  us,  that  several  lords, 
spiritual  and  temporal,    as  well  as  commoners,  direct  the 
returns  of  more    than  two  hundred  members  of  the  Irish 
House  of  Commons,  leaving  not  one-third  of  the  represen- 
tation to  the  people. 

VII.  Resolved — That  it  is    the    opinion  of  this  meeting 
that  all  boroughs  should  be  disfranchised,  and  representation 
established  on  fair  and  rational  principles,  by  extending  the 
election    franchise    equally  to    persons   of   every  religious 
persuasion,  by  elections   frequently   repeated,  aifd.  by   a 


170  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

distribution  01  representatives  proportioned  to  the  popula- 
tion  and  wealth  of  the  country. 

VIII.  Resolved — That  we  have  seen  with  satisfaction  the 
House  of  Commons  pledge  themselves  to  an  immediate  and 
fair  inquiry  into  the  state  of  the  representation ;  and   we 
conjure  them,  as  they  regard  their  own  faith  and  honour, 
the  safety  of  our  invaluable  constitution,  and  the  restoration 
of  the  public  mind  to  composure  and  confidence,  to  perse- 
vere in  such  enquiry  with  zeal  and  steadfastness ;    in  order 
that   a   complete    and   radical   reform    may    be  speedily 
effectuated. 

IX.  Resolved — That  during  a  complete  parliamentary  re- 
form essential  to  the  peace,  liberty,  and  happiness  of  the 
people,  we  do  most  solemnly  pledge  ourselves  to  each  other, 
and  to  our  country,  that  we  never  will  abandon  the  pursuit 
of  this  important  object,  but  zealously  and  steadily  persevere, 
until  a  full   and  fair  representation  of  the  people  shall  be 
unequivocally  obtained. 

X.  Resolved — That  we  consider  the  immediate  and  entire 
emancipation  of  the  Roman  Catholics,   as  a  measure   in- 
dispensably necessary  to  the  safety  and  happiness  of  this 
country. 

XI.  Resolved — That  a  power  be  vested  in  a  committee  con- 
sisting of  thirty  persons  for  the  purpose  of  re-convoking  this 
assembly  (as  occasion  may  arise),  until  the  constituent  body 
is  pleased  to  return  another  representation  of  this  province. 
And  that,  on  a  recommendation  by  letter,  addressed  to 
William  Sharman,  Esq.,  at  Moira,  and  signed  by  seven 
members  of  the  committee,  he  shall,  by  circular  letter  to 
the  rest,  procure  the  sense  of  a  majority ;  and  if  the 
measure  of  a  provincial  meeting  be  by  them  approved  of, 


DUN  GANNON   RESOLUTIONS.  171 

he  shall   forthwith  issue   a   summons  in  the  name  of  the 
committee  for  that  purpose. 

The  thirty  persons  nominated,  were  as  follows,  viz  — 

CO.    ANTRIM. 

Thos.  Morris  Jones,  Antrim. 
James  A.  Farrell,  Larne. 
Alex.  McManus,  Ballymena. 
Wm.  Sinclare,  Belfast. 
Hugh  Boyd,  Ballycastle. 

COUNTY   DONEGAL. 

James,  Watt,  Rathmelton. 
John  Ball,  Strabane. 
John  Allen,  Letterkenny. 
John  Cochran,  Strabane. 
Samuel  Ross,  L.  Deny. 

CO.  DOWN. 

Gavan  Hamilton,  Downpatrick. 

Alex.  Stewart,  Letterkenny.     (Co.  Donegal.) 

Joseph  Pollock,  Dublin.     (Representative  for  Newry.) 

Wm.  S.  Dickson,  Portaferry. 

John  Crawford,  Newtownards. 

CO.    DERRY. 

J.  Church,  Newtown-Limavaddy. 
Hugh  Lyle,  Coleraine. 


172  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Alex.  Knox,  L.  Derry. 
James  Scott,  L.  Derry. 
James  Achison,  L.  Derry. 


CO.  TYRONE. 

Daniel  Feckles,  Omagh. 
James  Eeynolds,  Cookstown. 
Wm.  Ross,  Strabane. 
Wm.  Stitt,  Dungannon. 
Hugh  Falkner,  Cookstown. 
Wm.  Finlay,  Carrickfergust 
John  Thompson,  Clones. 


Wm:  Sharman  Moira,  Chairman. 
Henry  Joy,  Belfast. 
W.  Armstrong,  L.  Derry 


/•  Secretaries. 


XII.  Resolved—  That   the  above  named  committee    be 
authorized  to  communicate  with  the  other  provinces  of  this 
kingdom    at   this  important  crisis,   and  to  concert  proper 
means  of  calling  a  National  Convention,  at  a  future  day, 
should  circumstances  render  such  a  meeting  unavoidably 
necessary. 

XIII.  Revived —That  we    behold  with  indignation,  an 
intension    of  embodying   a    militia    in    the    kingdom ;    a 
m  :a>uro  \v  do:i    can  oal/  have  ministerial   influence  for  its 
obj  'Ct.  w  uch  we  de  MI  burd  •ns.jm  :  and  totally  unnecessary. 

XI  V.  !te*olo>>d — Tiiat  failing  o  ir  obligations  to  our  brave 
and  disinterested  protectors,  th*  Volunteers  of  Ireland,  we 
cheerfully  embrace  the  opportunity  of  returning  them  our 


THIRD   CONVENTION.  173 

warmest  acknowledgments.  We  most  earnestly  exhort 
them  to  persevere  in  that  line  of  conduct,  which  has  pro- 
cured them  the  thanks  and  the  confidence  of  this  nation. 
We  trust  that  they  will  increase  their  numbers,  improve  their 
discipline ;  and  long  continue  the  unbought  defenders  of 
the  peace,  liberty,  and  constitution  of  their  country. 

XV.  Resolved — That  the  sincere  thanks  of  this  meeting 
be  given  to  the  inhabitants  of  Dungannon,  and  its  neigh- 
bourhood, for  their  extraordinary  politeness  and  hospitality 
to  the  members  of  this  assembly. 

WM.  SHARMAN,  Chairman, 

THIRD  CONVENTION. 

The  third  convention,  was  held  on  the  8th  September 
folio  wing,  when  five  hundred  and  seventy  volunteer  corps  at- 
tended, Colonel  James  Stewart  was  called  to  the  chair  ; 
twenty-two  resolutions  were  submitted  and  unanimously 
agreed  to.  It  was  Resolved,  unanimously — That  a  com- 
mittee of  five  persons  from  each  county  be  now  chosen 
by  ballot  to  represent  this  province  in  a  Grand 
National  Convention,  to  be  held  at  noon  in  the  Royal 
Exchange  of  Dublin,  on  the  10th  November  next,  to 
which  we  trust  each  of  the  other  provinces  will  send  dele- 
gates, to  digest  and  publish  a  plan  of  parliamentary  reform, 
to  pursue  such  measures  as  may  appear  to  them  most 
eff  ctual,  to  adjourn  from  time  to  time,  and  convene 
provincial  meetings  if  found  necessary".  This  National 
Convention  met  on  the  day  appointed  and  continued  its 
sittings  to  the  ^nd  December  in  that  year.1 

Anthologia  Hibernica,  vol.  i,  p.  238-9;  vol.  ii,  p.321-22,  Dublin,  1793' 


174  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Donegal  appears  to  have  had  a  fair  share  in  framing  those 
historic  resolutions  of  Dungannon.  The  names  of  her  repre- 
sentatives and  the  resolutions  framed  and  passed,  are  worthy 
of  a  place  in  any  notice  descriptive  of  literary  work  done 
by  the  men  of  Donegal :  Their  names  are  recorded  here  with 
hope  that  each  succeeding  generation  of  Donegal  men,  will 
always  act  as  brave  a  part,  and  express  their  sentiments, 
without  the  directing  aid  of  self-imposed  leaders  from  every 
other  part  of  Ireland. 

WILLIAM  PRESTON, 

was  born  in  Co.  Donegal,  on  Christmas  day  1729;  he  emi- 
grated to  America  with  his  father's  family,  when  he  was  but 
six  years  of  age.-  His  father  settled  in  Augusta  County. 
William  died  in  Montgomery  County,  Virginia,  28th  July, 
1783.  He  received  a  classical  education,  and  in  early  life 
acquired  a  taste  for  literature.  He  was  deputy-sheriff  of 
Augusta  Co.,  in  1750,  and  accompanied  George  Washington 
on  several  exploring  expeditions  in  the  West,  as  a  member  of 
the  House  of  Burgesses.  This  led  to  a  correspondence 
and  friendship  with  Washington  that  continued  till  Preston's 
death.  He  was  appointed  one  of  the  commissioners  with 
power  to  conclude  a  treaty  with  the  Shawnee  and  Delaware 
Indians,  and  in  1757,  by  negotiations  with  the  Indian  chief 
named  Cornstalk,  he  secured  peace  along  the  Western 
frontier  for  many  years.  The  privations  that  his  party 
suffered  on  their  return  journey  compelled  them  in  the 
absence  of  i'opr]  to  eat  the  "tugs"  or  straps  of  raw  hide  by 
which  their  packs  were  fastened,  and  Preston  in  memory 
of  the  event,  named  that  branch  of  the  Big-Sandy-river, 


MODERN   WRITERS.  175 

"  Tug  Fork",  which  name  it  still  retains.  He  became  in 
1771  surveyor  of  the  new  county  of  Montgomery,  named 
after  another  Donegal  man,  General  Richard  Montgomery 
(son  of  Thomas  Montgomery,  member  in  the  Irish  Parlia- 
ment for  Lifford)  who  died  in  Quebec,  3 1  st  December,  1 775. 
Preston  was  early  engaged  in  organizing  troops  for  the 
American  Revolutionary  war  against  England,  and  was 
raised  to  the  position  of  colonel  in  1775,  when  he  led  his 
regiment  at  Gilford  Court  House,  South  Carolina,  where 
he  received  injuries  that  caused  his  death  in  the  following 
July. 

FRANCIS  PRESTON, 

his  son,  who  became  a  member  of  Congress,  was  born  at 
Greenfield,  near  Amsterdam,  Botetourt,  Virginia  Co.,  2nd 
August,  1765,  and  died  in  Columbia,  South  Carolina,  25th 
May,  1835.  He  graduated  at  Wm.  and  Mary's  College,  1783? 
and  was  elected  to  Congress  in  1792.  He  was  appointed 
Brigadier-General  in  the  second  American  war  against 
Great  Britain,  and  was  Major-General  of  the  State  Militia. 
He  was  frequently  returned  a  member  of  Virginia  House 
of  Representatives,  as  well  as  of  the  State  Senate,  where  his 
ability  in  debate  and  graceful  elocution  secured  for  him 
high  recognition.  He  had  for  his  personal  friends,  Madison, 
Jefferson,  Monroe,  and  Chief  Justice  Marshall.  In  1792,  he 
married  Sarah,  daughter  of  William  Campbell,  the  hero  of 
King's  Mountain.  Their  son, 

WILLIAM   CAMPBELL  PRESTON, 

born  in  Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  27th  December,  1794, 
and  who  died  at  the  familv  residence  in   Columbia,  22nd 


176  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

May,  1860,  possessed  a  continuance  of  the  inherited  genius 
of  the  family.  He  won  a  brilliant  reputation  in  the  legisla- 
ture from  1828  to  '32,  as  a  senator,  advocate,  and  orator. 
He  was  President  of  the  College  of  South  Carolina  from 
1845  till  he  retired  in  1851.  His  literary  tastes  inspired 
him  to  establish  the  Columbian  Lyceum,  to  which  he  gave 
a  large  and  valuable  library.  Harvard  conferred  on  him 
the  degree  of  LL.D.  in  1846,  as  a  popular  orator.  Preston 
was  the  peer  of  his  maternal  uncle — Patrick  Henry,  the 
celebrated  statesman  and  orator,  Preston  was  stated  by  some 
to  have  been  one  of  the  greatest  orators  that  ever  lived — in 
many  instances  arousing  his  audiences  to  enthusiasm,  and 
moving  them  to  tears.  His  classical  attainments  orna- 
mented his  speeches,  as  he  was  a  profound  classical 
scholar,  and  universally  admitted  the  most  finished  orator 
the  Southern  States  has  ever  produced.  Several  men  of 
distinction  have  sprung  from  the  other  branches  of  the 
Preston  family  of  Donegal. 

JAMES   PORTER, 

a  distinguished  United  Irishman,  and  Presbyterian  minister 
of  Grey  Abbey,  Co.  Down,  from  1784  to  1798.  The  Rev. 
James  Porter  was  born  in  Ballindrait,  Co.  Donegal,  about 
the  year  1760.  He  was  an  accomplished  scientist,  and  the 
possessorof  an  extensive  library.  His  scientific  instruments, 
and  museum  for  the  illustration  of  natural  philosophy,  were 
at  that  time  unrivalled  in  the  North  of  Ireland.  His  liberal 
and  enthusiastic  mind,  brought  him  within  the  councils  of 
the  Society  of  United  Irishmen,  among  whom  were  many  of 
his  co-religionists.  He  first  sought  only  for  Catholic 


MODERN  WRITERS.  177 

Emancipation,  and  Parliamentary  reform,  on  the  lines  of 
the  Dungannon  resolutions,  but  •with  the  progress  of 
events  around  him,  he  advanced  with  his  party.  As 
a  fluent  speaker  and  ready  writer,  he  soon  took  a  foremost 
place  in  the  movement.  His  literary  works,  chiefly  on 
political  subjects,  were  of  a  forcible  and  trenchant  charac- 
ter, the  Northern  Star  and  Press  being  the  chief  medium 
of  their  communication  to  the  public.  He  was  engaged  in 
the  battle  of  Saintfield,  in  June,  1798,  was  taken  prisoner, 
tried  by  court-martial  and  executed  within  view  of 
his  own  church  and  home ;  he  suffered  with  calmness  and 
fortitude  and  was  buried  in  Grey  Abbey  churchyard,  where 
a  marble  slab  marks  his  last  resting  place.1  He  was  author 
o£ Billy  Bluff  and  Squire  Firebrand,  or,  a  Sample  of  the 
Times  with  a  selection  of  songs  from  Paddy  s  Resource;  the 
original  appeared  about  1796,  and  a  reprint  was  published 
in  Belfast  in  1812.2 

WILLIAM  DAVIS  GALLAGHER, 

though  not  born  in  Donegal,  deserves  to  be  mentioned  as  a 
direct  descendant  of  the  ancient  sept  of  that  name  in 
Tirconnell.  His  father,  had  been  implicated  in  the  insur- 
rection of  the  United  Irishmen  of  1798,  and  was  fortunate 
enough  to  find  means  to  emigrate  with  his  family  to  Phila- 
delphia, where  the  subject  of  this  notice  was  born  21st 
August,  1808.  His  father  dying,  soon  after  his  mother 

1  Madden's  United  Irishmen,  3rd  series,  Dublin  184t!,  and  Webb's  Irish 
Biography,  p.  443. 

2  It  was  from  ci  copy  of  this  reprint  Thomas  Ainge  Devyr  republished 
Billv  Bhiff  about  1830. 

23 


178  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

removed  to  Cincinnati,  where  young  Gallagher  was  appren- 
ticed in  a  printing  office,  which  led  to  his  beginning  his 
literary  career  at  an  early  age,  having  edited  the  Backwoods- 
man in  1825.  Making  journalism  his  profession,  The  Cin- 
cinnati Mirror  appeared  under  his  control  in  1831.  The 
Western  Literary  Journal  and  Monthly  Review  in  1836. 
The  Hespeian,  a  monthly  miscellany  of  general  literature, 
and  Ohio  State  Journal,  in  1838.  In  1853,  he  removed  to 
Louisville,  where  he  joined  the  staff  of  the  Daily  Courier- 
He  also  published  poems  entitled  Ballads  of  the  Border, 
Miami  Woods,  A  Golden  Wedding,  1881,  Civile  Bellum, 
Civil  War  poems,  and  New  Fables  of  the  old  Fairies,  were 
his  last  work.1 


ISAAC  BUTT. 

It  is  not  intended  to  deal  here  with  Isaac  Butt  in  his 
political  capacity.  In  a  review  of  his  political  career  in  the 
Cabinet  of  Irish  Literature,  he  is  described  as  "  a  man  of 
ideas,  his  oratory  coming  from  the  heart,  connecting  every 
link  of  the  chain  of  reasoning".2 

That  the  ideas  of  men  are  more  or  less  formed  by  the 
natural  surroundings  of  their  younger  days,  is  a  recognized 
postulate. 

1  Appleton's  Cyclopaedia,  vol.  ii-,p.  576. 

*  Bead's  Cabinet  of  Irish  Literature,  vol.  iv.  p.  1C4  and  165,  by  T.  P- 
O'Connor,  1880.  See  also  the  Parnell  M'JCI  went,  by  the  same  author. 


ISAAC   BUTT.  179 

Isaac  Butt  was  bom  at  Kiltevogue  rectory  in  the  year 
1813,  his  father  the  Eev.  Robert  Butt,  being  then  perpetual 
curate  of  that  place,  as  two  perpetual  curacies,  Stranorlar  and 
Kilteevock,  existed  in  the  parish  till  1835.  Stranorlar,  to 
which  Butt's  father  removed,  is  a  small  town  in  the  county 
Donegal,  containing  perhaps  three  or  four  hundred  inhabi- 
tants. It  stands  on  the  northern  bank  of  the  Eiver  Finn, 
whose  dark  waters  pass  onward  to  the  Foyle,  augmented  as 
they  proceed  from  its  source,  through  the  deep  valley  of 
Glen-Finn. 

Here,  with  a  background  of  grey  mountains  abrupt  and 
unpolished,  Butt's  younger  days  were  spent.  About  ten 
years  before  his  death,  during  a  darkened  period  of  his 
chequered  career,  his  mind  flew  back  to  those  Donegal 
mountains.  He  described  the  gap  in  the  graveyard  wall  at 
Stranorlar,  and  the  tree  close  by,  under  whose  shade  he  had 
learned  his  early  lessons,  as  the  spot  above  all  others  where 
beneath  its  branches  he  desired  to  be  buried,  so  that  the 
rain  might  fall  in  broken  spray  over  the  green  sod,  which 
he  wished  might  be  the  only  adornment  of  his  grave.  He 
had  so  graphically  described  the  place  to  the  person  to 
whom  he  expressed  his  wish,  that  although  an  entire 
stranger  to  the  district,  he  was  able  to  go  direct  to  the 
exact  spot,  and  point  out  the  site  for  Butt's  grave. 

LITERARY  WORK 

Butt's  first  literary  productions  were  in  connection  with 
the  Dublin  University  Magazine.  Having  entered  Trinity 
College,  Dublin,  in  1832,  he  continued  to  make  rapid  pro- 
gress, becoming  Auditor  of  the  College  Historical  Society 


180  INIS-OWEN  AND   T1RCONNELL. 

in  1833.  He  translated  Ovid's  Fasti  into  English  prose. 
He  states  that,  with  the  exception  of  the  New  Testament, 
and  Milton's  Paradise  Lost,  there  never  was  a  work  so 
sadly  tortured  by  the  ingenuity  of  critics,  and  the  invention 
of  various  readings,  than  the  original  of  the  translation  he 
presented  to  the  reader.  He  next  translated  the  Georgicsof 
Virgil  into  English  prose,  with  an  appendix  containing 
many  critical  and  explanatory  notes.  About  this  time  Butt 
essayed  the  role  of  novelist ;  and  with  that  tenderness  for 
his  native  place — which  throughout  life  was  one  of  his 
distinguishing  characteristics — he  gave  the  work  as  title, 
The  Gap  of  Barnesmore.  It  was  a  work  descriptive  of  local 
incidents  and  characters  after  the  manner  of  the  political 
novels  of  that  period,  and  was  mostly  on  the  side  of  the 
ascendancy  of  his  early  training. 

CALLED    TO    Tllli    BAH. 

Butt  was  called  to  the  Bar  in  1838.  He  defended  the 
old  Conservative  Corporation  in  Dublin,  in  February,  1840 ; 
and  in  the  House  of  Lords  with  great  ability,  during  the  same 
year.  In  1 843,  Butt  and  O'Connell  had  their  great  debate  in 
the  Corporation  on  "Kepeal  of  the  Union",  when  O'Connell 
made  the  prophetic  announcement  "  that  Butt  would  yet  be 
found  on  the  side  of  Ireland".  Butt  became  Q.C.  in  1844, 
and  professor  of  political  economy  (T.C.D.)  in  1846. 

A  lecture  delivered  by  Dr.  Butt,  Q.C.,  before  the  Royal 
Zoological  Society  of  Ireland  was  published  in  1847. l  This 
lecture  exhibited  an  amount  of  knowledge  that  could 
only  be  obtained  by  varied  research.  To  acquire  a 

1  Ztology  and  Civilization,  by  Isaac  Butt,  Dublin,  1847. 


ISAAC   BUTT.  181 

knowledge  ot  what  is  around  us,  seems  the  proper,  or  at 
least  the  first  direction  of  our  faculties  ;  students  of  natural 
history  might  produce  quite  as  important  effects  on  the 
national  mind  and  national  character  as  any  that  may  go 
down  to  posterity  through  the  instrumentality  of  legislators 
and  statesmen.  Such  was  the  Christianizing  effects  which 
Butt  believed  could  be  produced  by  a  study  of  zoology. 

TO    BE  AN  ORATOR. 

In  the  address  delivered  by  him  when  President  of  the 
College  Historical  Society,1  as  an  excuse  for  what  he  con- 
sidered its  defects,  he  refers  to  his  power  as  consisting  chiefly 
in  extempore  debate  and  energy  of  appeal,  rather  than  im- 
parting any  dignity  to  a  written  address  :  yet  in  this  address 
breathe  his  love  of  freedom,  and  his  reverence  for  the 
eloquence  of  those  to  whom  he  referred  as  "  men  who  made 
the  _eloquence  of  my  country  famous  among  the  nations  ; 
I  feel  as  if  I  were  among  the  shades  of  those  whom  my 
childhood  was  taught  to  admire" ;  he  describes  the  growth 
of  oratory  to  have  sprung  from  the  rude  debates  of  the 
warrior  tribes  of  antiquity,  as  did  their  poetry  in  songs  of 
triumph,  or  the  praises  of  their  chieftains. 

He  lectured  the  divinity  students  on  their  deportment  in 
the  pulpit,  and  warned  them  against  singularity  or  aiming 
at  effect,  he  says  "  Irish  eloquence  has  been  partly  censured 
and  partly  praised  as  vehement  and  impassioned",  whilst 
the  style  of  English  oratory,  "has  in  some  degree  been 
deadened  by  the  phlegmatic  coldness  of  the  people".  The 
press  he  considered  was  a  great  aid  to  cause  the  words  of 
1  June  24th,  Session  1833-4. 


182  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCOXNELL. 

the  orator  to  become  more  universal.  At  a  time  when  men 
did  not  know  their  rights,  he  considered  eloquence  as  the 
guardian  angel  standing  over  the  cradle  of  Liberty  ! 

Butt  greatly  preferred  to  be  considered  an  orator  than 
anything  else,  he  said  he  would  prefer  the  single  word 
Orator  to  be  written  on  his  grave,  than  any  trophies  01 
the  warrior,  and  above  the  honours  of  Newton,  Milton  and 
Locke.  The  orator  alone  he  looked  upon  as  the  man  of 
the  people,  their  cause  his  cause.  Tyranny  and  eloquence 
he  describes  as  mortal  foes,  the  orator  is  imperishable. 
"  The  tyrant  may  bury  the  man,  but  not  the  orator ;  the 
sword  of  the  warrior,  and  the  eloquence  of  the  patriot 
protect  more  by  the  influence  of  their  name  than  by  the 
exertion  of  their  power".  The  orator  he  considered  to  be 
the  spirit  of  the  storm,  he  becomes  a  part  of  the  whirlwind  of 
the  political  tempest,  no  training  can  create  the  enthusiasm 
of  soul  that  is  the  essence  of  an  orator,  it  is  the  gift  of  nature, 
of  God.  Butt  winds  up  his  address  on  oratory  thus 
— "  I  feel — I  know — I  am  persuaded  that  from  this  society 
great  things  will  be  produced,  we  will  draw  around  us  the 
youthful  talent  of  our  country.  The  glories  of  the  days 
gone  by  shall  return  with  more  pristine  splendour,  we 
shall  yet  send  forth  a  Grattan  to  represent  her  in  the  senate 
—  and  I  cannot  believe  that  better  days  are  not  in  store 
for  my  unhappy,  but  still  my  loved,  my  native  land. 

This  may  not  be  the  place  to  give  utterance  to  my 
feelings,  but  I  cannot  help  it.  An  orator  shall  yet  arise 
whose  voice  shall  teach  her  people  wisdom,  and  whose 
efforts  shall  procure  for  him  the  epithet  of  the  father  of  his 
country — It  may  be  but  the  dream  of  an  enthusiastic  heart, 
but  I  believe  the  time  will  come  when  faction  shall  flee 


ISAAC   BUTT.  183 

away,  and  dissension  shall  be  forgotten ;  when  Ireland's 
orators,  and  Ireland's  statesmen,  shall  only  seek',  their 
country's  good ;  when  law  shall  be[respected,  and  yet  liberty 
maintained".1 

IN    THE    MUNICIPAL   COUNCIL. 

Butt  as  counsel  for  the  Dublin  Corporation  delivered 
a  speech  at  the  bar  of  the  House  of  Lords  against  the  bill 
entitled,  "  An  Act  for  the  Eegulation  of  Municipal  Corpora- 
tions in  Ireland".2  Catholics  up  to  the  year  1793,  had 
been  excluded  by  law  from  being  members  of  the  Dublin 
Corporation,  and  for  this  Butt  contended^the  legislature 
alone  were  to  blame.  As  an  excuse  for  the  continued 
exclusiveness  of  the  Corporation,  even  after  the  Irish 
Parliament  had  removed  this  disability,  he  assumes  the 
insurrection  of  1798  to  have  been  a  religious  war, 
forgetting  the  leading  part  taken  by  Ulster  Presbyterians, 
during  that  eventful  period. 

The  insurrection  of  1803,  he  also  places  among  the 
religious  wars,  and  states  the  policy  that  created  this 
disaffection,  was  the  fault  of  the  British  Government ;  and 
the  Corporation,  faithful  to  their  trusts,  he  considered  were 
bound  to  maintain  their  exclusiveness.  Then  for  the  next 
twenty  years,  the  agitation  for  Catholic  Emancipation  em- 
barrassed each  successive  ministry,  and  Butt  contended,  the 
principle  of  exclusive  Protestantism,  such  as  that  practised 
by  the  Dublin  Corporation,  was  still  necessary,  and  for  which 

1  From  what  part  of  Ireland  shall  this  second  St.  Patrick  spring  ?— 
perhaps  he  is  now  amongst  us,  "  only  seeking  his  country's  good". 

2  15th  May,  1840,  Dublin,  printed  by  Goo.  Faulkner,  1810. 


184  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

they  received  many  distinct  marks  of  approval  from  the 
Government.  With  Catholic  Emancipation  passed  in  1829, 
the  intention  of  the  legislature  was  clearly  expressed,  the 
non-compliance  with  the  spirit  of  the  act,  Butt  laid  at  the 
door  of  prejudices  nurtured  and  encouraged  by  the  House 
of  Lords  themselves,  seeing  how  long  they  had  paused  be- 
fore admitting  Catholics  to  their  own  House. 

Butt  however  appealed  to  the  House  of  Lords,  predicting 
the  fall  of  the  Irish  Church  as  a  consequence  of  the  Cor- 
poration Reforms  Act,  and  with  the  fall  of  the  Church,  he 
predicted  the  unbinding  of  the  ties  that  connect  the  two 
sister  countries. 

BUTT  AND  O'CONNELL. 

On  the  28th  February,  1843,  O'Connell  after  a  four 
hours  speech  in  the  Corporation,  moved — 

"  That  a  petition  from  the  Corporation  of  the  City  of 
Dublin  be  presented  to  Parliament  praying  for  a  repeal  of 
the  Legislative  Union". 

Alderman  Butt  replied  in  a  speech  where  he  claimed 
that  the  question  was  for  the  first  time  submitted  to 
an  assembly  of  Irishmen  where  both  parties  could  be 
heard  in  calm  and  deliberate  discussion,  and  tested  by 
argument  and  reason.1 

Butt  published  in  1846,  with  an  appendix,  the  substance 
of  the  lectures  he  had  delivered  when  professor  of  Political 
Economy  in  the  University*  on  the  advantages  of  Protection 
to  Home  industry. 

1  Butt's  Speech  against  O'Connelfs  Repeal  of  the  Union,  Dublin,  Curry 
and  Co.,  1848. 

2  Hodges  and  Smitli,  Dublin,  1846. 


ISAAC  BUTT.  185 

CHANGE  OF  THOUGHT. 

Butt  as  an  advocate  was  engaged  on  the  popular  side 
at  many  of  the  Fenian  State  Trials — and  the  knowledge  he 
obtained  during  the  preparation  of  his  briefs  for  the  defense 
of  his  clients,  he  says — "had  taught  him  the  depth,  the 
breadth,  the  sincerity  of  that  love  of  fatherland  that  mis- 
government  had  tortured  into  disaffection  ;  and  misgovern  - 
ment,  driving  men  to  despair,  had  exaggerated  into  revolt. 
State  trials  were  not  new  to  me.  Twenty  years  before,  I 
stood  near  Smith  O'Brien,  when  he  braved  the  sentence  of 
death  which  the  law  pronounced  upon  him.  I  saw  Meagher 
meet  the  same,  and  then  asked  myself  this,  surely  the  State 
is  out  of  joint — surely,  all  our  social  system  is  unhinged 
when  O'Brien  and  Meagher  are  condemned  by  their  country 
to  a  traitor's  doom  ?  Years  had  passed  away,  and  once 
more  I  stood  by  men  who  had  dared  the  desperate  enter- 
prise of  freeing  their  country  by  revolt".1 

In  1852,  he  was  elected  to  Parliament  as  a  Conservative, 
for  the  English  constituency  of  Norwich,  and  became 
widely  known  in  London  by  his  brilliant  defense  of  one  of 
the  Indian  princes,  from  whom  it  has  been  stated  he  re- 
ceived the  large  fee  of  £30,000.  It  has  been  alleged  that 
this  enormous  fee  changed  the  whole  current  of  his  life,  and 
caused  Butt  not  to  look  to  the  prosecution  of  his  profession 
so  assiduously  as  he  might  otherwise  have  done. 

He  was  elected  member  for  Youghal  about  this  time, 
where  he  delivered  a  speech  on  National  Education  in 
Ireland? 

1  Butt's  Speech,  National  Conference,  Nov.;  1873. 
2M'Glashan,  Dublin,  1854. 

24 


186  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

The  Italian  question  was  now  one  that  agitated  the  public 
mind,  and  Butt  wrote  his  History  of  Italy,1  a  work  in 
which  he  displays  much  historical  research,  and  records 
his  facts  with  an  elegancy  of  style.  Butt's  reference  to 
Pope  Julius  II.  directing  Michael  Angelo  in  the  sculpture 
details  to  be  placed  on  the  tomb  of  his  Holiness,  offers  us 
an  example.  "We  read  of  the  hermit  who  hews  his  sepul- 
chre in  the  rock,  in  the  loneliness  of  an  isolation  that  is  to 
survive  his  own  existence, — of  the  sombre  devotion  of  the 
recluse,  who  deepens  the  melancholy  solemnity  of  his  con- 
templations, by  placing  before  his  eyes  the  anticipated 
appliances  of  the  grave.  The  anchorite  has  darkened  the 
gloom  of  his  solitude  by  keeping  in  his  cell  the  rude 
coffin  in  which  his  lifeless  remains  are  to  be  laid".2 

The  Liberty  of  Teaching  Vindicated,  a  work  on  Irish 
National  education,3  Butt  dedicated  to  The  Eight  Hon.  Wm. 
E.  Gladstone,  M.P.  In  this  he  advocates  the  right  of  deno- 
minational schools  to  the  grants  given  to  schools  under  the 
National  system. 

THE  IRISH  LAND  QUESTION. 

The  Irish  Land  question  now  occupied  Butt's  mind.  His 
tracts  Land  Tenure  in  Ireland,  a  plea  for  the  Celtic  race,4 
was  no  doubt  inspired  by  the  information  he  had  acquired 
about  this  time  in  preparing  his  powerful  defense  and  advo- 

1  The  History  of  Italy,  by  Isaac  Butt,  two  volumes,  Chapman  &  Hall, 
London,  18GO. 

2  Ibid,  vol.  II.  p.  232 

3  The  Liberty  of  Teaching  Vindicated,   by  Isaac  Butt,  Kelly,  Dublin, 
1865. 

4  Land  Tenure  in  Ireland,  Falconer,  Dublin,  1867. 


ISAAC   BUTT.  187 

cacy  for  the  Fenian  leaders ;  Fixity  of  Tenure,  and  The  Irish 
Querist1  followed.  These  tracts  contained  an  epitome  of  the 
evils  of  the  system  of  Land  Tenure  in  Ireland.  In  the  Querist, 
he  tells  the  reader  how  he  throws  his  argument  into  the  form 
of  questions,  after  the  manner  of  the  celebrated  work  of 
Bishop  Berkeley,  with  whom  Butt's  family  were  connected. 
Butt  quotes  therefrom  twenty-three  unanswered  queries 
propounded  by  that  divine,  one  hundred  and  twenty  yeais 
previously.  The  twenty-third  query  asks  "  whose  fault  is 
it  if  poor  Ireland  still  continues  poor". 

AMNESTY. 

The  amnesty  movement  for  the  release  of  the  Fenian 
prisoners  next  occupied  Butt's  attention.  His  famous 
letter  addressed  to  the  Under- Secretary,  entitled  The  People 
and  the  Police,2  denies  the  right  asserted  by  Under-Secre- 
tary  Burke,  to  prohibit  the  citizens  of  Dublin  from  using 
the  streets  of  the  city  in  any  lawful  manner  which  they 
please.  The  Under- Secretary  had,  on  the  evening  of  the 
day  of  the  great  meeting  at  Cabra,  (10th  Oct  1869),  writ- 
ten in  reply  to  Butt,  that  the  commissioners  of  police  would 
not  allow  the  thoroughfares  of  the  city  to  be  occupied  by 
large  concourses  of  persons,  whether  moving  in  procession 
or  stationary. 

Butt  by  his  advocacy  of  the  cause  of  the  people,  gained 
for  him  considerable  popularity,  and  as  President  of  the 
Irish  Amnesty  Association,  he  addressed  a  letter  to  the 

1  The  Irish  Queiist,  Falconer,  Dublin,  1867. 

2  The  People  and  the  Police,  A  letter  to  Thomas   II.  Burke,  Esq.,  by 
Isaac  Butt,  Q.G.,  Falconer,  Dublin,  I860. 


188  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Prime  Minister,  entitled  Ireland's  Appeal  for  Amnesty.1  He 
states,  that  from  the  origin  of  the  Amnesty  movement  he 
had  been  a  party  to  it. 

Butt  for  his  persistent  appeal  was  styled  by  the  English 
press  The  Fenian  Advocate.  This  letter  of  Butt  on  Amnesty, 
is  a  lasting  tribute  to  his  advocacy,  ability,  and  humanity ;  in 
describing  the  Cabra  meeting,  he  says — "Until  I  stood 
upon  the  platform  at  that  Cabra  meeting,  I  never  realized 
the  might  and  majesty  of  popular  opinion.  Words  of  far 
more  power  than  any  I  can  command,  would  fail  to  give 
expression  to  emotions  I  can  but  faintly  recall,  when  I  stood 
in  presence  of  two  hundred  thousand  human  beings,  and 
was  conscious  that  every  eye  in  that  vast  assemblage  was 
turned  upon  me,  and  felt  that  every  heart  in  that  mighty 
multitude — far,  far  beyond  the  limit  to  which  any  human 
voice  could  reach — was  throbbing  with  the  belief  that  I  was 
giving  utterance  to  the  one  thought  that  was  actuating 
all".2 

HOME  RULE. 

O'Connell's  prophesy  was  fulfilled ;  "  Isaac  Butt,  was  now 
in  the  ranks  of  the  Irish  people".  Turning  his  attention  to 
the  Irish  political  question,  he  wrote  a  work  on  Federalism* 
The  part  taken  by  Isaac  Butt  at  the  inauguration  of  the 
Home  Kule  movement,  on  the  19th  May,  1870,  is  familiar 

1 A  Letter  to  Right  Eon.  W.E.  Gladstone,  M.P.,  published  by  Cameron 
and  Ferguson,  Glasgow  and  London,  in  1870. 

2  Ibid,  p.  24. 

3  Home  Government  for  Ireland,  Irish  Federalism  :  its  meaning  (Fourth 
Edition),  Dublin,  1874. 


ISAAC  BUTT.  189 

to  every  student  of  Irish  politics.  On  that  occasion  he 
proposed  the  resolution  that  has  become  historic.  "  That 
it  is  the  opinion  of  this  meeting  that  the  true  remedy  for 
the  evils  of  Ireland  is  the  establishment  of  an  Irish  Parlia- 
ment with  full  control  over  our  domestic  affairs". 

When  member  for  Limerick,  Butt  delivered  an  address 
on  Intellectual  Progress,1  at  the  opening  of  the  session  of 
the  Limerick  Athenseum.  A  short  time  previously  he 
gave  an  address  on  the  subject  of  Venice'  before  the 
Historical  Society  of  the  Catholic  University.2 

THE  NATIONAL  CONVENTION. 

The  National  Convention  of  18th  Nov.,  1873,  and  three 
following  days  held  in  the  Round  Room  of  the  Rotunda, 
was  projected  and  inspired  by  Butt,  this  he  considered 
to  be  the  greatest  effort  of  his  life  ; — the  moulding  together 
of  many  discordant  elements. 

A  speech  delivered  by  Butt  at  the  meeting  of  the  Home 
Rule  Government  Association  in  1871,  onthe7ns/i  Deep 
Sea  Fisheries,  was  published  as  a  pamphlet  by  the  Home 
Rule  League.3  Although  in  1869  the  Government  placed 
the  Irish  Fisheries  under  a  special  department  conducted 
by  three  inspectors,  it  was  not  till  1874  that  Butt  obtained  a 
transfer  of  what  is  known  as  the  "  Irish  Reproductive  Fund" 
to  the  management  of  the  inspectors,  with  the  object  of 
advancing  loans  to  fishermen.  Butt  also  obtained  for  Irish 

1  Intellectual  Progress,  O'Gorraan,  Limerick,  1872. 

2  Venice  in  1848-9,  with  inroduction   by  I.E.   (Issac  Butt),   1862; 
Butt's  Chapters  of  College  Romances  (First  Series)  was  published  in  Lon- 
don in  1863. 

3  Irish  Deep  S(a  Fisheries,  by  Isaac  Butt,  Dublin,  1874. 


190  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

cities  the  right  of  conferring  the  distinction  of  Honorary 
Freemen,  and  the  practical  nomination  of  their  sheriffs. 

UNIVERSITY  EDUCATION. 

The  question  of  University  Education,  still  unsettled, 
was  at  this  time  considered  to  be  of  pressing  importance. 
Butt  after  his  return  as  member  for  Limerick,  in  1871,  gave 
this  subject  much  consideration.  His  first  speech  in 
the  House  of  Commons,  in  March,  1872,  was  on  the  sub- 
ject of  education.  Hence  he  published  his  plans  for 
primary  and  University  Education,  in  what  he  styles  a 
compressed  fragment  of  a  larger  essay  that  he  had  in  prepar- 
ation. 

He  closes  his  proposed  solution  of  The  Problem  of  Irish 
Education  with  these  words :  "  In  an  humble  effort  to  obey 
the  teaching  of  that  divine  precept,  I  will  struggle  in  this 
great  matter  of  education  to  do  unto  my  Roman  Catholic 
brother,  as  I  would  he  should  do  unto  me".1 

At  the  request  of  the  Irish  Bishops,  Butt  drew  up  a 
Memorandum,  in  which  he  reviewed  the  bill  brought  in  by 
Mr.  Gladstone  in  1873,  for  the  reform,  or  re-modelling  of 
the  University  of  Dublin  ;  only  thirty  copies  of  this  memo- 
randum were  printed. 2  For  the  masterly  care  bestowed  on 
the  subject,  Butt  received  the  thanks  of  the  associated 
bishops,  in  a  resolution  they  forwarded  to  him,  and  to 
which  he  afterwards  pointed  with  much  satisfaction. 

This  question  of  University  Education,  largely  occupied 

1  The  Problem  of  Irish  Education,  An  attempt  at  its  solution,  by  Isaac 
Butt,  London,  1875. 
8  Printed  by  Fowler,  Dublin. 


ISAAC   BUTT.  191 

Butt's  attention.    During  the  parliamentary  session  of  1 876 
he  brought  in  a  bill  "to  make  better  provision  for  University 
Education  in  Ireland".1 

The  following  year  in  moving  the  second  reading  of  a 
bill  introduced  with  the  same  object,  he  delivered  a  speech  of 
considerable  force,  pointing  out  that  up  to  1794,  Catholics 
were  not  admissible  into  Trinity  College,  being  excluded 
alike  by  the  statutes  of  the  College,  and  by  act  of  Parliament. 
In  that  year,  by  Royal  sanction  the  statutes  were  modified, 
and  the  same  year  the  exclusively  Protestant  Irish  Parlia- 
ment, repealed  an  act  that  excluded  Catholics  from  degrees, 
and  even  contemplated  the  endowment  of  a  second  college 
where  Catholics  could  hold  fellowships.  Butt  pointed  out 
the  illiberality  of  the  English  Parliament,  after  a  lapse  of 
eighty-four  years,  in  not  doing  an  act  of  justice  that  had 
been  contemplated  by  the  Protestant  parliament  of  Ireland. 

Eleven  years  previous  to  this,  Mr.  Gladstone  had  pro- 
nounced in  favour  of  the  establishment  of  a  Catholic 
college. 

Butt  defined  the  period  of  five  years,  as  the  time 
allotted  by  each  succeeding  generation  to  university  educa- 
tion, and  that  every  such  period,  marked  for  the  Catholic 
youth  of  Ireland  an  irreparable  loss,  so  long  as  they  re- 
mained under  circumstances  less  favourable  than  those  of 
their  Protestant  fellow-countrymen.  The  bill  was  rejected 
by  202  against,  and  57  for,  only  tiuo  English  members  voting 
for  this  measure  of  justice.2 

1  A  National  University  for  Ireland,  a  speech  in  II.  C.,  May  16th,  1876, 
by  Isaac  Butt,  Dublin,  Alley  and  Co.,  1876. 

2  Irish  University  Education,   a  speech  in  H.C.,  July   26th,  1877,  by 
Isaac  Butt,  Dublin,  M.  H.  Gill  and  Son,  1877. 


192  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

It  appears  evident  from  an  extract  used  by  Butt  when 
publishing  this  speech,  that  he  had  been  sadly  disappointed 
at  the  result  of  his  appeal  for  justice  to  the  English  Parlia- 
ment. He  placed  as  a  text  on  the  titlepage  an  extract 
from  an  utterance  made  by  Eight  Hon.  W.  E.  Gladstone, 
in  February,  1875,  that  if  acted  upon,  would  have  gone  far 
to  settle,  not  only  the  education  question,  but  almost  every 
other  Irish  question,  i.e. — "  It  is  not  less  impolitic  than  it  is 
unjust,  to  interfere  by  a  great  phalanx  of  English  votes  to 
prevent  a  concession  to  Ireland,,  in  a  matter  in  which  that 
country  is  entitled  to  expect  that  its  wishes  should  have 
effect  given  to  them".  Still,  the  impolicy  and  injustice 
continue. 

Butt's  Gap  of  Barnesmore,  a  tale  of  the  Irish  Highlands 
and  the  revolution  0/1688,  requires  a  few  words  of  descrip- 
tion. It  has  no  author's  [name,  but  is  catalogued  in  the 
British  Museum,  under  the  name  of  Isaac  Butt.  It  was 
published  in  London,  in  1848,  in  three  volumes,  each 
containing  about  335  pages. 

In  the  first  volume,  he  says,  "  It  may  be  a  perilous 
attempt  to  employ  in  our  history,  materials  so  nearly  allied 
with  quarrels  that  are  yet  imextinguished.  An  injudicious 
use  of  them,  would  ^unquestionably  bring  exasperating 
topics  into  pages  of  which  the  only  object  should  be  to 
convey  instruction  in  its  most  pleasing  form.  It  may  be 
enough  for  the  writer  of  this  narrative  to  say,  that  they  do 
not  know  the  Irish  of  any  party  who  believe  that  they  cannot 
look  back  upon  the  history  of  past  feuds  and  find  satisfac- 
tion in  the  remembrance  of  the  heroism  of  either  side".1 

»  Vol.  1,  p.  12. 


ISAAC   BUTT.  193 

SHADOW. 

Butt's  last  public  speech  was  made  at  a  general  meeting  of 
the  Irish  JJome  Rule  League,  held  in  the  Leinster  Hall  (not 
the  Leinster  Hall  since  famous  for  other  political  speeches), 
Molesworth  Street,  Dublin,  4th  February,  1879.  It  was 
at  that  meeting  the  future  active  policy  of  the  Irish 
Parliamentary  party  was  inaugurated  by  Mr.  C.  S.  Parnell. 
In  the  course  of  Butt's  speech  he  stated,  as  accounting  for 
his  parliamentary  inactivity,  that — "  for  the  last  year  I 
have  regarded  myself  as  virtually  withdrawn  from  politics  ; 
I  only  interfered  on  the  Intermediate  Education  Bill",  and 
again  he  said — "It  grieves  me  to  speak  of  myself,  but 
perhaps  I  have  a  name  that  may  live  when  the  voice  that 
addresses  you  is  silent  for  ever,  and  I  may  say  that  in 
1877, 1  went  over  to  the  House  of  Commons  with  a  warning 
as  distinct  as  medical  skill  could  give  me,  that  I  had  over- 
worked myself,  that  a  few  months  of  quiet  might  restore  me ; 
but,  that  if  I  went  to  Parliament  it  was  at  the  risk  or  certainty 
of  shortening  my  life". 

With  this  it  may  be  said  the  career  of  Isaac  Butt  closed. 
After  a  lingering  illness  he  died,  May  6th,  1879,  and  his 
remains  were  interred,  where  he  had  long  before  requested 
they  might  be,  in  the  graveyard  of  Stranorlar,  in  the  soil  of 
the  county  he  had  loved  so  well,  near  the  cherished  home 
of  his  boyhood,  and  adjacent  to  where  he  was  born. 

We  will  close  this  this  notice  of  Isaac  Butt,  with  a 
quotation  from  a  poem  written  immediately  after  Butt's 
death,  and  from  the  pen  of  another  distinguished  Ulsterman, 
who  had  known  Butt  intimately,  namely  George  Sigerson, 
F.R.U.I. 

25 


194  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

"  Her  fallen  banner  from  the  dust  he  raised, 

And  proud  advanced  it,  with  uplifted  brow, 
Till  the  sun  kissed  it,  and  the  nations  gazed — 

Whose  was  that  standard  ?     Answer,  Erin,  thou  !" 


XIX. 
VARIOUS  WRITERS. 

HUGH  P.  GALLAGHER 

Was  born  in  Killygordon,  Tircounell,  in  the  year  1815,  and 
died  in  San  Francisco,  California,  March  1882.  Having 
received  his  early  education  at  home  in  Ireland,  he  emi- 
grated to  the  United  States  in  1837,  where  he  completed 
his  theological  studies  at  the  college  of  St.  Charles 
Borromeo,  Philadelphia,  in  which  he  held  the  professorship 
of  classics. 

He  was  ordained  to  the  priesthood  in  1840,  was 
placed  in  charge  of  the  Mission  of  Pottsville,  where  he 
effected  great  reforms  among  the  mining  population,  and 
established  a  temperance  society  that  embraced  five 
thousand  members.  In  1844,  he  was  appointed  Parish  Priest 
of  Pittsburg,  and  President  of  its  theological  seminary,  he 
founded  and  edited  for  some  time  the  Pittsburg  Catholic ; 
he  also  founded  in  that  city  during  1844  St.  Francis' 
College  for  boys.  In  1850,  he  introduced  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  and  established  under  their  charge  the  Academy 
of  St.  Aloysius  for  girls.  Father  Gallagher's  energy  was 
unbounded,  founding  in  Cambria  Co.,  at  Summitville,  The 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  195 

Crusader.  In  1852  he  was  appointed  theologian  to  the  first 
Plenary  Council  of  Baltimore,  and  in  the  autumn  of  that 
year  his  labours  were  transferred  to  California,  There,  he 
built  a  church  at  Benicia,  aided  in  erecting  the  Cathedral 
Church  of  St.  Mary,  in  San  Francisco,  and  began  the 
the  erection  of  a  church  in  Oakland.  Father  Gallagher 
had  the  honour  of  establishing  the  first  Catholic  journal 
that  appeared  on  the  Pacific  coast  of  the  United 
States,  when  in  1853,  he  founded  the  Catholic  Standard, 
which  he  personally  edited  for  several  months  before 
he  departed  for  Europe,  where,  in  that  year  he  secured 
the  services  of  a  large  number  of  priests  for  the  Californian 
mission.  He  placed  fourteen  students  in  ecclesiastical 
colleges  to  be  educated  for  the  same  purpose. 

When  in  Ireland  that  year,  he  secured  the  services  of 
Sisters  of  Mercy  and  Nuns  of  the  Presentation  order,  for 
the  schools  and  hospitals  he  intended  to  establish  in  Cali- 
fornia. During  his  tour  on  the  Continent  he  received  large 
donations  to  assist  him  in  his  meritorious  works,  and  re- 
turned to  California  in  1854. 

The  failure  of  Adam's  Express  and  Banking  Company,  in 
1855,  brought  impoverishment  to  large  numbers  of  the 
working  classes,  and  they  sought,  as  it  became  with  them 
a  necessity,  a  safer  place  to  deposit  their  savings. 

Father  Gallagher  was  selected  as  their  banker,  and  he 
acted  in  that  capacity  for  several  years,  during  which  time, 
several  million  dollars  passed  through  his  hands.  His 
health  began  to  suffer  in  consequence  of  his  great  activity, 
and  in  1860,  he  was  obliged  to  retire  to  the  northern  part 
of  the  State,  where  he  purchased  a  large  tract  at  Yreka,  and 
converted  it  into  a  church.  His  penchant  for  church 


196  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

building  did  not  even  now  desert  him,  for  in  the  same 
year  he  built  the  churches  in  Carson  city,  Genoa,  and 
Virginia  City.  He  returned  in  1861  to  San  Francisco,  and 
at  once  set  about  building  St.  Joseph's  Church,  St.  Joseph's 
Free  School,  and  St.  Joseph's  Hall.  The  schools  formed 
the  most  important  work  of  his  life.  In  1865,  he  founded 
the  Magdalen  Asylum  under  the  charge  of  the  Sisters  of 
Mercy,  having  been  previously  instrumental  in  founding 
St.  Maryrs  hospital. 

During  the  commercial  stagnation  1869-70,  he  laid 
before  the  Legislature  a  plan  for  the  improvement  of  Golden 
Gate  Park,  and  obtained  an  appropriation  for  the  purpose1 

FRANCES  BROWNE, 

The  blind  poetess,  daughter  of  the  village  postmaster,  was 
born  under  the  shadow  of  mountain  of  Barnusmore,  in  the 
plain  of  Magh-Itha,  at  Stranorlar,  on  16th  January,  1816. 
The  loss  of  eyesight,  which  she  sustained  in  infancy  by 
an  attack  of  small-pox,  did  not  prevent  her  from  becoming 
acquainted  with  the  works  of  some  of  the  best  writers  of 
English  literature.  This  knowledge  she  obtained  by  educa- 
ting herself,  and  getting  others  to  teach  her.  Her  first 
poems  appeared  in  the  Irish  Penny  Journal,  Athenceum, 
Hood's  Magazine,  and  several  other  periodicals  of  the  time. 
The  first  collection  of  her  poems  as  a  separate  volume, 
appeared  in  1844,  entitled  The  Star  of  Atteghei,  the  Vision  of 
Schwartz,  and  other  poems. 

Since  1847,  Frances  Browne  has  resided  in  London,  or 
Edinburgh,  and  has  written  Lyrics  and  Miscellaneous  Poems, 

1  Appleton's  Cyclofiedia,  rol.  ii.,  p.  576. 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  197 

Legends  of  Ulster,  the  Ericksona,  a  tale,  and  the  Hidden  Sin, 
a  novel  (1866),  My  share  in  the  world  (1862),  a  sort  of 
autobiography  ;  she  received  during  Sir  Robert  Peel's 
administration  a  small  literary  pension  which  she  has  since 
enjoyed.1  The  airy  imaginations  born  of  her  native 
mountains,  breathe  through  many  of  her  poems. 

Her  verses  entitled  The  Last  Friends  are  descriptive  of 
one  of  the  United  Irishmen,  who  returned  to  his  native  land 
after  many  years  of  exile  :  when  asked  what  induced  him 
to  return,  his  friends  being  all  gone,  he  replied,  "  I  came 
back  to  see  the  mountains".  This  ballad  is  chosen  on 
account  of  its  touching  pathos,  and  was  the  specimen  of 
Frances  Browne's  poetry,  selected  by  a  celebrated  Irish 
poet.2 

THE    LAST   FRIENDS. 

I  came  to  my  country,  but  not  with  the  hope 

That  brightened  my  youth  like  the  cloud-lighting  bow 
For  the  region  of  soul  that  seemed  mighty  to  cope 

"With  time  and  with  fortune,  hath  fled  from  me  now  ; 
And  love,  that  illumined  my  wanderings  of  yore, 

Hath  perished,  and  left  but  a  weary  regret 
For  the  star  that  can  rise  on  my  midnight  no  more — 

But  the  hills  of  my  country  they  welcome  me  yet ! 

The  hue  of  their  verdure  was  fresh  with  me  still, 
When  my  path  was  afar  by  the  Tanais'  lone  track ; 

1  Cabinet  of  Irish  Literature,  vol.  iv.,  p.  182. 

2  The  Book  of  Irisk    Ballads,  edited  by  Denis  Florence  MacCarthy, 
p.  231,  Dublin,  1869. 


198  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

From  the  wide-spreading  deserts  and  ruins  that  fill 
The  land  of  old  story,  they  summoned  me  back  ; 

They  rose  on  my  dreams  through  the  shades  of  the  west, 
They  breathed  upon  sands  which  the  dew  never  wet, 

For  the  echoes  were  hushed  in  the  home  I  loved  best — 
But  I  knew  that  the  mountains  would  welcome  me  yet ! 

The  dust  of  my  kindred  is  scattered  afar, 

They  lie  in  the  desert,  the  wild,  and  the  wave ; 
For  serving  the  strangers  through  wandering  and  war, 

The  isle  of  their  memory  could  grant  them  no  grave, 
And  I,  I  return  with  the  memory  of  years, 

Whose  hope  rose  so  high  though  its  sorrow  is  set ; 
They  have  have  left  on  my  soul  but  the  trace  of  their  tears — 

But  our  mountains  remember  their  promises  yet ! 

Oh !  where  are  the  brave  hearts  that  bounded  of  old, 

And  where  are  the  faces  my  childhood  hath  seen  ? 
For  fair  brows  are  furrowed,  and  hearts  have  grown  cold, 

But  our  streams  are  still  bright,   and  our  hills  are  still 

green ; 
Ay,  green  as  they  rose  to  the  eyes  of  my  youth, 

When  brothers  in  heart  in  their  shadows  we  met ; 
And  the  hills  have  no  memory  of  sorrow  or  death, 

For  their  summits  are  sacred  to  liberty  yet ! 

Like  ocean  retiring,  the  morning  mists  now 

Roll  back  from  the  mountains  that  girdle  our  land  ; 

And  sunlight  encircles  each  heath-covered  brow 

For  which  time  had  no  furrow  and  tyrants  no  brand ! 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  199 

Oh,  thus  let  it  be  with  the  hearts  of  the  isle, 
Efface  the  dark  seal  that  oppression  hath  set ; 

Give  back  the  lost  glory  again  to  the  soil, 
For  the  hills  of  iny  country  remember  it  yet. 

WILLIAM    QUINN, 

Who  was  for  many  years  one  of  the  most  influential  men 
in  the  Catholic  Church  in  America,  was  born  in  the  parish 
of  Donoughmore,  Co.  Donegal,  about  the  year  1821,  and 
died  at  Paris  in  France,  15th  April,  1 887. 

Having  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in  1841,  he  entered 
the  ecclesiastical  seminary  of  Fordham,  N.Y.,  and  was 
ordained  a  priest  by  Archbishop  Hughes  on  the  17th 
December,  1845.  He  became  pastor  of  St.  Peter's  Church 
at  Barclay,  N.Y.,  where  by  his  indefatigable  exertions  he 
cleared  off  a  debt  of  140,000  dollars,  and  a  further  debt 
of  137,000  dollars  that  had  been  due  to  many  poor  men 
and  women.  Although  he  was  considerably  opposed  by 
the  lay  trustees,  he  had  the  active  support  of  Archbishop 
Hughes,  he  eventually  succeeded  in  overcoming  the 
opposition  he  received,  and  of  paying  off  the  entire  debt. 
He  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  Cathedral  and  Vicar  Gene- 
ral, 1st  May,  1873. 

During  Cardinal  McCloskey's  absence  in  1875,  and 
again  in  1878,  he  was  placed  in  charge  of  the  administration 
of  the  entire  diocese.  In  1885,  he  was  re-appointed  to 
the  same  position  by  Archbishop  Corrigan,  but  his  health 
began  to  suffer,  and  he  came  to  Europe  in  June  1886. 
Under  Cardinal  McCloskey,  Dr.  Quinn  was  almost  the 
absolute  director  of  the  arch-diocese  of  New  York.  His 
natural  peculiarity  was  an  abruptness  of  address,  which  is  a 


200  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

trait  in  the  mannerism  of  most  Ulstermen,  that  rarely  leaves 
them.  This  gave  offence  to  some  who  considered  it  arose 
from  an  ungracious  manner.  His  care  for  the  poor  and 
needy  was  proverbial,  and  though  millions  passed  through 
his  hands  he  died  poor.  His  remains  were  taken  from  Paris 
to  New  York,  where  they  were  interrred  in  Calvary 
cemetery.  His  literary  labours  consisted  chiefly  in  con- 
nection with  his  administrations,  Dr.  Quinn  was  nominated 
one  of  the  domestic  prelates  to  His  Holiness  the  Pope. 

SIR  GEORGE  FERGUSON  BOWEN,  P.O.,  LL.D.  ETC  , 

The  eldest  son  of  the  late  Rev.  Edward  Bowen,  Rector 
of  the  parish  of  Taugh-boyne  (UeAc-b<Mten)  in  the  Barony 
of  North  Raphoe,  was  born  in  the  year  1831,  at  Bogay 
Glebe,  near  Newtown  Cunningham,  Inis-Owen. 

He  graduated  at  Oxford  with  classical  honours,  in  1844, 
became  Fellow  of  Brasenose,  and  was  admitted  to  the 
English  Bar  the  same  year.  He  takes  the  name  of 
Ferguson  from  the  family  name  of  his  relative,  the  late  Sir 
Robert  Ferguson,  M.P.  for  the  City  of  Derry.  He  entered 
the  public  service,  and  held  the  post  of  Chief  Secretary  for 
the  Ionian  Islands  (1854-59).  Sir  George  Bowen  distin- 
guished himself  as  a  Colonial  Governor,  having  been  ap- 
pointed first  Governor  of  Queensland,  which  position  he  held 
from  1859-68.  His  next  appointment  was  Governor  of 
New  Zealand  from  1868  to  1873,  then  Victoria  from  1873 
to  1879.  In  1879  he  was  transferred  to  the  Mauritius, 
where  he  remained  till  1883. 

After  thirty  years  in  th3  public  service,   Sir   George 
Bowen  intended  to  retire,  but  having  been  prevailed  upon, 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  201 

he  undertook  the  government  of  Hong  Kong,  which  he 
administered  with  marked  ability,  establishing  harmony 
and  efficiency  in  that  government,  for  which  he  received 
the  official  appreciation  of  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the 
Colonies,  and  as  a  mark  of  distinction  was  on  his  return  to 
England  raised  to  the  dignity  of  a  Privy  Councillor. 

In  1887  Sir  George  Bowen  finally  retired,  having  been  for 
more  than  twenty-six  years  a  Colonial  Governor  of  colonies 
possessing  the  right  of  self-government,  as  well  as  of  Crown 
Colonies. 

He  is  author  of  a  pamphlet  advocating  Imperial 
Federation,  by  means  of  a  union  of  the  mother  country 
with  her  colonies,  that  is  to  say,  one  state  for  common 
defense  and  joint  foreign  policy,  whilst  giving  to  each 
colony  control  of  its  own  domestic  laws. 

Sir  George  Bowen  about  the  commencement  of  his 
official  career  found  leisure  to  devote  a  portion  of  his  time 
to  literature.  He  has  pxiblished  a  description  of  Ithaca,* 
and  of  the  European  Provinces  of  Turkey,  under  the  title 
of  Mount  Athos,  Thessaly,  and  Epirns."  He  has  also  made 
various  contributions  to  periodical  literature,  and  has 
written  a  Handbook  for  Greece.3  He  has  received  hi^h 

J  •  CJ 

honorary  degrees  from  the  Universities  of  Oxford  and  Cam- 
bridge.4 

Sir  George  Bowen  has  been  described  as  a  fluent  and 
graceful  speaker,  and  possessed  of  a  genius  for  apt  quotation. 
A  recent  work  descriptive  of  liis  labours  and  embodying 

1  J.  Ridgeway,  London,  1851. 

-  F.  &  I.  Rivington,  London,  1852. 

3  John  Murray,  London,  1852. 

4  Tlic  Cosmopolitan,  Nov.  1888.  pp.  301-301. 

26 


202  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

his  correspondence  has  been  published.1  Under  consider- 
able pressure  when  Governor  of  Victoria,  he  consented  to 
the  wish  of  the  local  parliament  to  continue  the  payment 
of  its  members.  Sir  George  Bowen  adopts  Australia  as 
his  model  for  the  solution  of  many  political  questions  that 
are  being  agitated  at  home. 

WILLIAM    ELDER,    LL.D. 

William  Elder  was  born  on  the  22nd  July,  1822,  in  the 
townland  of  N'orira,  about  one  mile  north-west  of  the  town 
of  Malin  in  Inis-Owen. 

His  father,  though  a  respectable  Presbyterian  farmer,  was 
not  in  a  position  to  expend  large  sums  on  the  education  of 
his  children. 

William  Elder's  intellectual  development  was  marked 
by  steady  industry  and  perseverance  (his  chief  characteristics 
during  life),  and  while  yet  at  an  age  when  the  bulk  of  his 
companions  were  about  to  commence  their  search  after 
knowledge,  young  Elder  had  sufficiently  mastered  its  first 
elements.  From  the  attention  he  gave  to  his  studies  at 
Malin,  where,  in  the  school  in  which  he  was  educated, 
and  became  an  assistant,  he  afterwards  received  the  ap- 
pointment of  principal  to  a  school  at  Ballymacroarty,  near 
Derry. 

Elder  was  not  satisfied  with  the  profession  of  teacher. 
He  ambitioned  to  become  a  Presbyterian  minister,  and 
with  that  object  in  view,  he  entered  the  service  of  the  late 
Samuel  Law  Crawford,  solicitor,  of  Derry,  as  his  clerk,  and 

1  Thirty  ytars  of  Colonial  Government,  from  the  official  papers  of 
Eight  Hon.  Sir  G,  F.  Bowen,  edited  by  Stanley  Lane  Poole,  London,  1889. 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  203 

by  a  special  arrangement  with  Mr.  Crawford  he  was  enabled 
to  attend  the  necessary  lectures  at  either  of  the  Univer- 
sities of  Belfast,  Glasgow,  or  Edinburgh  during  the  winter, 
giving  the  summer  vacation  to  Mr.  Crawford's  business. 

On  the  completion  of  his  studies,  ~Wm.  Elder  emigrated 
to  St.  Johns,  N.B.,  where  he  obtained  the  charge  of  a 
congregation.  At  New  Brunswick  he  rapidly  attained  to 
prominence,  both  as  a  capable  speaker  and  public  writer. 

At  St.  Johns  he  edited  for  a  term  of  years  the  Colonial 
Presbyterian  and  the  Morning  Journal,  and  became  pro- 
prietor and  chief  editor  of  the  St.  Johns  Daily  Telegraph. 
His  position  as  an  educationist  gave  him  a  seat  as  member 
of  the  grammar  School  Board,  and  member  of  the  Dominion 
Board  of  Trade.  He  was  an  unsuccessful  candidate  for 
parliamentary  honours  at  the  general  election  in  the 
Dominion  in  1872, but  was  afterwards  returned  for  the  legis- 
lature of  New  Brunswick  in  1878,  and  was  re-elected,  in 
1882,  in  which  year  he  died.1 

BERNARD   O'REILLY, 

Born  in  Donegal  in  1823. 2  At  an  early  age  he  emigrated 
to  Canada,  where  he  entered  the  Seminary  of  Quebec,  where 
he  studied,  and  was  ordained  a  priest.  He  served  many 
years  on  the  Canadian  missions,  devoting  himself  particu- 
larly to  the  interests  of  his  fellow-countrymen,  who  were 
forced  by  the  famine  of  1848,  to  emigrate  to  that  part  of 

1  Appleton's  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Biography,  vol.  ii.,  p.  319,  New 
York,  1887. 

2  We  hare  been  unable  to  ascertain  the  exact  locality,  but  have  heard 
Mountcharles  suggested. 


204  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

America.     He  engaged  in  a  plan  for  promoting  Irish  Colo- 
nization which  was  only  partially  successful 

He  was  appointed  professor  of  rhetoric  in  St.  Johns 
College,  Fordham,for  some  time  after  in  1851,  and,  after 
studying  abroad,  was  attached  to  the  Church  of  St.  Francis 
Xavier,  New  York.  He  travelled  extensively  throughout 
Europe,  where  he  devoted  himself  to  literary  researches. 
His  intercourse  with  Popes  Pius  IX,  and  Leo  XIII,  has  been 
of  a  confidential  nature  ;  the  latter  Pontiff  having  selected 
Father  O'Keilly  to  write  the  official  Life  of  Leo  Xlll.  He 
was  raised  to  the  dignity  of  domestic  prelate  to  the  Pontifical 
throne  in  1887.  As  a  writer,  he  has  been  indefatigable, 
his  principal  works  are  Mirror  of  true  Womanhood,  New 
York  (1876),  Life  of  Pius  IX  (1877),  True  Men  (1878) 
Key  of  Heaven  (187b),  The  Two  Brides,  a  novel  (1879),  and 
Life  Leo  Xlll,  (ItfH?).1  He  also  wrote  The  Martyrs  of 
the  Colliseum  and  Victims  of  the  Mamertine,  a  celebrated 
Roman  prison.  The  Life  of  Leo  Xlll.  has  been  published 
in  French.  The  Rev.  B.  O'Kcilly  contributed  various 
articles  to  the  New  York  Sun.  Like  the  majority  of  his 
fellow  countrymen  abroad — Ireland  still  held  a  first  place 
in  his  thoughts. 

JOSIAS   LESLIE   PORTER,  D.D.  LL.D. 

Was  born  in  the  townland  of  Carrowan,  in   the  parish  of 
Beart  (now  Burt)  in    luis-Owen,  4th  October,   1823,    he 
died    in  the    mansion   attached    to  the   Queen's  College, 
Belfast  (of  which  he  was  President),  16th  March,  1889. 
Dr.  Porter  received  his  early  education  from  the  Rev.  Mr. 

1  Appleton'3  Cyclopccdia,  vol.  iv.,  p.  58 G. 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  205 

Craig,  a  seceding  minister,  who  taught  a  classical  school  near 
Raphoe.  He  graduated  at  the  University  of  Glasgow,  in 
1842,  and  completed  his  theological  training  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Edinburgh,  and  the  Free  Church  College  of  that 
city. 

He  was  licensed  by  the  Presbytery  of  Berry  to  preach  the 
Gospel,  in  accordance  with  the  doctrine  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church,  on  the  20th  November,  1844,  and  in  1846, 
received  and  accepted  a  call  to  a  congregation  in  Newcastle- 
on-Tyne.  This  he  resigned,  and  returned  shortly  after  to 
Ireland,  when,  in  1849  he  became  son-in-law  to  the  Rev. 
Henry  Cooke,  D.D.,  LL.D. 

Having  been  appointed  by  the  Belfast  Presbytery  as 
missionary  to  the  Jews  in  Syria,  he  remained  eight  years 
in  the  East,  through  which  he  travelled  extensively,  visiting 
Palestine,  Syria,  Egypt,  Asia  Minor,  and  Greece. 

Having  returned  to  Ireland  a  short  time  previous  to  the 
death  in  1859  of  Dr.  Wilson,  professor  of  Biblical  criticism. 
He  was  appointed  by  the  General  Assembly  in  the  sum- 
mer of  1860  to  the  vacant  chair,  in  which  position  he 
exhibited  considerable  intellectual  capacity.  In  1864  he 
received  the  honorary  degree  of  D.D.  from  the  University 
of  Edinburgh,  and  that  of  LL.D.  from  his  Alma  Mater  in 
the  same  year. 

Dr.  Porter  was  unanimously  elected  Moderator  of  the 
General  Assembly  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church  in 
1875,  during  his  year  of  office  he  launched  the  scheme  for 
aiding  con^reirations  to  secure  manses  for  their  ministers. 

o  o       o 

In  1878,  having  been  appointed  one  of  the  Assistant  Com- 
missioners under  the  Intermediate  Education  Act,  he 
resigned  the  chair  he  held  in  the  Assembly's  College  at 


206  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Belfast,  and  went  to  reside  in  Dublin.  In  1879,  on  the 
resignation  of  the  President  of  the  Queen's  College,  Belfast ; 
Dr.  Porter  was  selected  as  his  successor,  which  position  he 
held  till  his  death. 

Dr.  Porter's  contributions  to  literature  have  been  exten- 
sive ;  in  addition  to  articles  supplied  to  several  periodicals, 
he  has  given  his  Oriental  experiences,  under  the  titles  of 
Five  years  in  Damascus  (1855) ;  Tke  Handbook  of  Syria  and 
Palestine  (1856)  ;  and  The  Giant  cities  0//?as/tan(lS65);  A 
reply  to  Bishop  Colenso,  The  Pentateuch  and  the  Gospels 
(1864).  He  contributed  several  articles  to  Smith's  Dictionary 
of  the  Bible,  Kitto's  Cyclopaedia  of  Biblical  Literature, 
The  American  Bibliotheca  Sacra,  The  Encyclopaedia 
Britannica,  and  many  pamphlets.  The  Life  and  Times  of 
Henry  Cooke,  D.D.  (1871)  ;  and  The  Pew  and  Study  Bible, 
(1876). 

WILLIAM    ALLINGHAM, 

"Was  born  at  Ballyshannon  in  the  year  1828,  where  he  was 
afterwards  engaged  in  the  Customs.  He  removed  to  Eng- 
land more  than  thirty  years  ago.  Allingham  began  to  contri- 
bute at  an  early  age  to  London  periodicals,  among  others, 
the  Athenaeum  and  Household  Words.  His  first  volume  of 
poems  was  published  in  1850,  Day  and  Night  Songs  ap- 
peared in  1854,  an  enlarged  edition  of  the  same  work  illus- 
trated by  Millais  and  Rossetti  was  issued  in  1855,  and  under 
the  title  of  Fifty  Modern  Poems,  appeared  in  1865.  He  also 
wrote  Laurence  Bloomjleld  in  Ireland,  which  originally 
appeared  in  Eraser's  Magazine,  in  twelve  chapters  of 
couplets,  among  which  were  Ballytullagh  and  Going  to  the 
Fair.  These  were  re-published  in  book  form  in  1869. 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  207 

Allingham,  became  editor  ofFraser's  Magazine,  in  1874, 
and  contributed  to  it  many  prose  articles.  He  also  wrote 
and  published  two  plays,  Asltby  Manor  and  Evil  May  Day, 
and  numbered  among  his  literary  friends  the  Poet  Laureate 
and  Carlyle.  Some  of  his  Irish  Songs  and  Poems,  in 
1887,  were  published  with  musical  airs. 

His  Songs,  Ballads,  and  Stories,  are  given  in  a  revised 
collection,  that  he  classes  under  three  heads,  Day  and  Night 
Songs,  Ballads  and  Songs,  and  Poetical  Stories,  the  whole 
forming  an  elegant  volume.1 

The  author's  poetic  tone  appears  to  have  been  intensified 
by  the  ancient  historic  surrounding  scenery  of  Asaroe,  and 
the  ruins  about  his  native  place.  His  style  breathes  freely 
of  the  folklore  of  that  district  of  Tirconnell. 

Allingham  died  at  Eldon  House,  Lyndhurst  Road, 
Hampstead,  London,  18th  November,  1889. 

We  insert  a  few  examples  of  his  poetry,  with  the  object 
of  inducing  our  readers  to  examine  the  whole  of  the  pro- 
ductions of  William  Allingham. 

The  natural  feeling  displayed  in  Abbey  Asaroe,  and 
Adieu  to  Ballyshanny,  cannot  be  exceeded,  and  ought  to 
live  as  long  as  Ballyshannon  exists. 

A   DREAM.2 

"  I  heard  the  dogs  howl  in  the  moonlight  night, 
I  went  to  the  window  to  see  the  sight, 
All  the  Dead  that  ever  I  knew, 
Going  one  by  one  by  one,  and  two  by  two, 

1  Published  by  George  Bell  and  Son,  London,  1877. 

2  Songs,  Ballads,  and  Stories,  by  W.  Allingham,  p.  14. 


208  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIECONNELL. 

.  of  them  all  there  was  one,  one  only, 
Raised  a  head  or  looked  my  way, 
She  lingered  a  moment — She  might  not  stay. 

How  long  since  I  saw  that  fair  pale  face  ! 

Ah  !  Mother  dear !  might  I  only  place 
My  head  on  thy  breast,  a  moment  to  rest, 
While  thy  hand  on  my  tearful  cheek  were  prest". 

THE    RUINED    CHAPEL.1 

By  the  shore  a  plot  of  ground 
Clips  a  ruined  chapel  round, 
Buttress'd  with  a  grassy  mound, 
Where  Day  and  Night  and  Day  go  by, 
And  bring  no  touch  of  human  sound. 

Washing  of  the  lonely  seas, 
Shaking  of  the  guardian  trees, 
Piping  of  the  salted  breeze 
Day  and  Night  and  Day  go  by, 
To  the  endless  tune  of  these. 

Or  when,  as  winds  and  waters  keep 
A  hush  more  dead  than  any  sleep, 
Still  morns  to  stiller  evenings  creep 
And  Day  and  Night  and  Day  go  by ; 
Here  the  silence  is  most  deep. 

1  Ibid,  p.  18. 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  209 

The  empty  ruins  lapsed  again 

Into  Nature's  wide  domain 

Sow  themselves  with  seed  and  grain 

As  Day  and  Night  and  Day  go  by, 

And  hoard  June's  sun  and  April's  rain. 

Here  fresh  funeral  tears  were  shed, 
No\r  the  graves  are  also  dead  ; 
And  suckers  from  the  ash-tree  spread 
While  Day  and  Night  and  Day  go  by  ; 
And  stars  move  calmly  over  head. 

UNDER   THE   GRASS.1 

Where  the  green  mounds  o'erlook  the  mingling  Erne 

And  salt  Atlantic,  clay  that  walked  as  Man 
A  thousand  years  ago,  some  Viking  stern, 

May  rest,  or  nameless  chieftain  of  a  clan  ; 
And  when  my  dusty  remnant  shall  return, 

To  the  great  passive  world,  and  nothing  can 
With  eye,  or  lip,  or  finger,  any  more, 

0  lay  it  there  too,  by  the  river  shore. 

ABBEY   ASAROE. 

"  Gray,  gray  is  Abbey  Asaroc  by  Bullyshanny  town, 
It  has  neither  door  nor  window,  the  walls  are   broken 

clown  ; 

The  carven  stones  lie  scatter'd  in  briars  and  nettle-bed ; 
The  only  feet  are  those  that  come  at  burial  of  the  dead. 

1  Ibid.  p.  85. 

27 


210  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

A  little  rocky  rivulet  runs  murmuring  to  the  tide, 
Singing  a  song  of  ancient  days,  in  sorrow,  not  in  pride  ; 
The  boor-tree  and  the  lightsome  ash  across    the  portal 

grow, 
And  heaven  itself  is  now  the  roof  of  Abbey  Asaroe".1 

We  will  finish  with  another  extract  from  The  Emigrant's 
Adieu  to  Ballyshanny  >  or,  The  Winding  Banks  of  Erne. 

"  Adieu  to  Ballyshanny  !  where  I  was  bred  and  born ; 
Go  where  I  may,  I'll  think  of  you,  as  sure  as  night  and 

morn. 
The  kindly  spot,  the  friendly  town,  where  every  one  ia 

known, 

And  not  a  face  in  all  the  place  but  partly  seems  my  own  ; 
There's  not  a  house  or  window,  there's  not  a  field  or  hill, 
But  east  or  west,  in  foreign  lands,  I'll  recollect  them  still, 
I  leave  my  warm  heart  with  you,  though  my  back  I'm 

forced  to  turn. 
So  adieu  to  Ballyshanny,   and  the    winding   banks    of 

Erne".2 

William  Allingham  was  also  a  well  known  prose  writer. 
For  many  years  he  was  connected  with  Eraser's  Magazine, 
and  on  Froude's  resignation,  became  editor — a  position 
he  held  till  a  recent  period.  Some  of  his  essays  were 
written  under  the  nom-de-plume  of  "  Patricius  Walker",  and 
has  been  published  in  volume  form.3 

1  Songs,  Ballads,  and  Stories, p.  136. 

•  Ibid,  p.  HI. 

3  Cabinet  of  Irish  Literature,  vol.  iv.,p.  138,  London,  1880. 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  211 

ROBERT    PATTERSON, 

born  in  Letterkenny,  in  1829,  received  his  early  education 
in  his  native  town  and  in  Deny.  He  emigrated  to  the 
United  States,  where  after  a  course  of  study  in  the  theolo- 
gical seminary  of  the  reformed  Presbyterian  Church  in 
Philadelphia,  Pennsylvania,  he  was  licensed  to  preach  in 
185],  and  received  his  ordination  the  following  year.  In 
1854,  he  was  appointed  pastor  of  the  First  Eeformed 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Cincinnati,  Ohio.  He  was  placed  in 
charge  of  churches  in  Chicago,  Illinois,  from  1875  to 
1873,  and  in  San  Francisco  from  1874  to  1878,  when  he 
returned  to  Cincinnati  during  the  latter  year,  and  accepted 
a  call  from  the  central  Presbyterian  Church  of  that  city, 
which  he  held  for  two  years.  Since  1880  he  has  been 
pastor  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  Brooklyn,  Alameda 
County,  California.  Kobert  Patterson  is  a  Doctor  of 
Divinity,  and  a  varied  writer.  Among  his  publications 
are  included  The  Fables  of  Infidelity  and  the  Facts  of  Faith 
(Cincinnati,  1860)  ;  The  A  merican  Sabbath,  (Philadelphia, 
1868)  The  Sabbath  Sanctified,  etc.  (1870)  ;  Egypt's  place  in 
History  (18  75).' 

STEPHEN  JOSEPH  MCGROARTY, 


of  the  ancient  sept  of  the  111  AC  llobA^CAij,  was  born  in 
Mount  Charles,  in  1830,  he  died  in  College  Hill,  Ohio,  2nd 
January,  1870.  His  parents  emigrated  to  the  United 
States  when  the  subject  of  this  notice  was  only  three  years 
of  age.  They  went  west,  and  settled  in  Cincinnati, 

1  Appleton's  Cyclopctdia,  vol,  iv,  p.  G74. 


212  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Ohio;  there  young  McGroarty  received  his  education, 
and  graduated  at  the  College  of  St.  Francis  Xavier. 

Having  first  selected  a  commercial  life,  he  joined  an 
uncle  in  partnership;  but  at  the  end  of  five  years  he  left 
business,  and  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  law.  He 
was  admitted  to  the  bar  and  began  to  practice  at  Toledo  ; 
but  subsequently  retired  to  Cincinnati,  where  he  achieved 
a  great  reputation  as  a  criminal  lawyer. 

In  addition  to  his  position  as  an  eminent  lawyer,  he  won 
for  himself  laurels  as  a  soldier.  At  the  commencement 
of  the  Civil  War,  McGroarty  raised  a  company  of  Irish 
Americans  for  three  months,  with  whom  he  afterwards 
enlisted  for  three  years  service.  At  Carnifex  Ferry,  he 
received  a  gun  shot  wound  through  the  right  lung.  So  soon 
as  he  recovered  he  returned  to  the  field  and  received  the 
appointment  of  Colonel  of  the  50th  Ohio  Infantry,  which 
was  afterwards  merged  into  the  61st;  he  commanded  the 
latter  regiment  till  the  end  of  the  war.  At  Peach  Tree  Creek, 
his  left  arm  was  shattered  at  the  elbow  in  the  beginning  of 

o  o 

the  engagement,  yet  he  remained  with  his  men  throughout 
the  fight.  Like  the  Celtic  gallowglasses  of  Tirconnell  from 
whom  he  was  descended,  he  exposed  his  life  with  the  utmost 
hardihood,  and  during  the  war  received  no  less  than  twenty- 
three  wounds.  He  was  brevetted  Brigadier  General  of 
Volunteers  on  the  (5th  of  May,  1865.  Like  most  American 
citizens  after  the  war,  he  took  up  the  ploughshare  and  cast 
away  the  sword.  He  wa?  for  t\vo  years  collector  of  Inland 
revenue,  and  just  before  his  death,  which  resulted  from 
injuries  he  received  in  battle  — he  was  elected  clerk  of  the 
Hamilton  County  Courts.1 

1  Appletun,  vol.  iv.,  p.  120. 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  213 

PATRICK  DOHERTY. 

Although  Inis-Owen  was  not  the  birth-place  of  the  Rev. 

O  J- 

Patrick  Doherty,  who  was  'born  at  Quebec,  2nd  June, 
1838,  it  is  almost  unnecessary  to  add  that  he  was  the  son  of 
Irish  parents  who  had  emigrated  from  the  old  peninsula. 
Father  Doherty  was  educated  at  the  Christian  Brothers' 
Schools  of  Quebec,  and  graduated  at  its  seminary,  where 
he  became  professor  of  English  literature. 

In  1864  he  joined  the  noviciate  of  the  Society  of  Jesus, 
which  he  had  to  abandon  owing  to  delicate  health  ;  the 
following  year  he  was  ordained  a  priest,  and  soon  became 
noted  as  a  pulpit  orator. 

He  was  elected  President  of  St.  Patrick's  Institute, 
where,  and  before  other  literary  bodies,  he  delivered 
several  courses  of  public  lectures. 

Jn  1869,  Father  Doherty  made  a  European  tour, 
travelling  to  Palestine  and  the  Holy  Land,  and  wrote  a 
j  ournal  of  his  travels . 

He  accompanied  the  Canadian  Papal  Zouaves  as  chaplain 
on  their  return  to  Canada  in  1870. 

The  following  year  he  was  appointed  Vicar  of  St.  Eoch, 
and  chaplain  to  the  Hospital  of  Quebec.  But  from  his 
delicate  health,  and  the  labour  attendant  on  a  series  of  lec- 
tures descriptive  of  the  principal  incidents  of  his  travels, 
delivered  before  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  com- 
plete prostration  followed.  His  death  occurred  at  Quebec, 
in  1872,  at  the  early  age  of  31  years.  A  collection  of  his 
French  writings  was  published  at  Quebec  in  that  year.1 

1  Applcton's  Cyclopaedia  of  American  Biography,  vol.  ii.,  p.  210. 


214  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

JOHN   JOSEPH   KEANE, 

was  born  in  Ballyshannon,  Tirconnell,  on  the  12th  Septem- 
ber, 1839.  His  family  emigrated  to  the  United  States  in 
.1 846,  where  he  received  his  education  at  St.  Mary's  Semin- 
ary, and  St.  Charles  College,  Baltimore ;  and  was  ordained 
a  priest  in  1866.  He  was  appointed  assistant  pastor  of  St. 
Patrick's  Church,  Washington,  D.C.,  where  he  remained 
till  1878,  when  he  was  raised  to  the  episcopacy,  and 
consecrated  Bishop  of  Richmond,  Virginia,  on  the  25th 
August  of  that  year. 

Bishop  Keane  is  a  distinguished  educationist,  has 
taken  an  active  part  in  the  organization  of  Catholic  societies 
and  has  been  appointed  Rector  of  the  Catholic  University 
that  is  at  present  being  established  at  "Washington,  D.C.1 

Dr.  Keane,  during  the  past  year  at  the  convention  of 
teachers  of  America  in  Chicago,  most  nobly  sustained  the 
position  taken  up  by  the  Catholics  of  America,  in  support 
of  denominational  education,  where  he  received  general  re- 
cognition for  his  earnestness,  splendid  oratorical  power,  and 
liberality  of  sentiment ;  only  claiming  for  Catholics, 
the  same  freedom  in  matter  of  education  as  in  religion,  i.e., 
the  right  to  teach  both  in  combination. 

HUGH    ALLTNGHAM, 

a  half-brother    of  the  late    William  Allingham   was  born 
inBallyshanon,  28th  April,  1845. 

lie  is  author  of  a  very  interesting  work,  Bally  shannon^ 
its  History  and  Antiquities.2  It  is  dedicated  to  the  people 

1  Appleton,  Cyclopaedia,  vol.  iii.,p.  49G. 

2  Ballyshannonits  History  and  Antiqwties,\>y  Hugh  Allingham,  Derry,1879- 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  215 

of  Ballyshannon,  at  home  and  abroad,  thus  showing  that  a 
like  deep  affection  has  been  inherent  in  the  Allinghams  for 
their  native  place.  The  work  is  divided  into  sixteen 
chapters,  and  exhibits  a  marked  intelligence  and  acquain- 
tance, not  only  with  the  history  and  antiquities  of  the  district, 
but,  with  much  of  the  history  of  Donegal,  that  could  be 
alone  procured  by  patient  research.  It  is  a  very  creditable 
work.  The  chapter  on  antiquities,1  contains  valuable 
information  illustrating  the  localities  where  cromlechs,  raths, 
crannogs,  and  ecclesiastical  remains,  are  to  be  found  in  the 
district  of  Tirconnell  surrounding  Ballyshannon.  The 
chapter  devoted  to  Zoology  and  Botany,1  displays  an 
intimate  acquaintance  with  the  animals,  birds,  fish,  plants 
and  ferns,  of  that  part  of  Donegal,  and  with  their  zoological 
and  botanical  distinctions.  No  less  interesting  and  instruc- 
tive is  the  chapter  on  local  names,3  where  many  Irish  names 
are  explained  and  translated  into  their  English  equivalents. 
Hugh  Allingham  gives  an  English  translation  by  George 
Sigerson,  M.D.,  Fellow  of  the  Royal  University,  Dublin,  of 
the  original  Spanish  poem  by  Dr.  D.  Joaquin  Lorenzo 
Villanueva,  entitled  The  Shepherd's  Farewell,*  in  which  this 
Spaniard,  who  was  a  chaplain  to  the  King  of  Spain,  makes 
his  shepherd  address  Ballyshannon  thus  : — 

"  Ballyshannon  flowery  village, 

Flowery  village  once  my  home  ! 
Peaceful  rest  among  thy  mountains, 
That  afar  off  see  me  roam". 

1  Ibid,  chap.  xiv.  pp.  107-119. 
-  Ibid,  chap,  xv.,  pp.  119-133. 

3  Chap.  n\i,  pp.  133-138. 

4  Ibid,  pp.  91.U2. 


216  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

BERNARD    KELLY,   M.P. 

Among  the  first  of  the  popular  representatives  sent 
in  1885  and  1880 — by  the  people  themselves,  to  represent 
Tirhugh  division  of  Ancient  Tirconnell  in  the  Senate  of  the 
Imperial  Parliament,  at  Westminster,  was  Bernard  Kelly- 
born  on  the  19th  April,  1849,  at  the  Port  Ballyshannon, 
in  the  parish  of  Inis-MacSaint,  Diocese  of  Clogher,  and 
County  of  Donegal. 

During  the  month  of  December,  1886,  preparatory  to 
his  returning  for  the  session  to  Westminster,  he  made  a 
tour  of  the  country,  and  specially  addressed  several 
meetings  of  his  constituents.  Having  reached  Mount- 
chaiies,  he  died  there  on  the  1st  of  January,  1887,  after 
twelve  hours  illness,  universally  regretted  by  all  who  knew 
him. 

Bernard  Kelly  was  an  accomplished  scholar,  having 
studied  classics  under  a  very  superior  teacher,  Thomas 
Mclntyre  of  Ballyshannon.  He  was  identified  with  every 
constitutional  reform  from  the  inauguration  of  Isaac  Butt's 
Home  Rule  movement,  being  generally  appointed  secretary 
and  amanuensis  of  every  local  society.  He  contributed 
several  articles,  which  appeared  chiefly  in  the  Derry  Journal, 
under  the  signature  of  "  Tirconnell  and  Aseroe",  he  also 
wrote  some  poetry  on  subjects  connected  with  his  native 
place. 

He  was  a  ready  and  accomplished  speaker,  and  addressed 
throughout  England  and  Scotland  many  political  meetings 
in  support  of  the  establishment  of  an  Irish  Parliament. 

Bernard  Kelly,  though  a  rigid  observer  of  everything 
appertaining  to  his  own  political  duties,  was  liberal  and 
tolerant,  sfrantina  to  other?  all  that  lie  asked  for  himself. 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  217 

His  remains  rest  in  the  cemetery  of  St.  Mary's  Catholic 
Church,  Ballyshannon,  where  a  memorial  has  been  erected 
by  his  many  admirers. 

The  strictness  with  which  he  attended  to  his  religious 
obligations  was  the  theme  of  admiration  among  those  by 
whom  they  were  observed.  This  marked  feature  of  his 
character  was  never  neglected  even  when  attending  his 
Parliamentary  duty.  Having  had  a  personal  knowledge  of 
his  many  estimable  qualities,  we  offer  this  slight  tribute 
to  his  memory. 

HENRY   CHICHESTER  HART,    B  A.,   F.L.S., 

of  Glenalla,  near  Rathmullan,  has  devoted  much  time  to  the 
study  of  botany. 

Henry  Hart  in  his  investigations  has  not  forgotten  the 
Flora  of  Donegal ;  many  papers  on  various  districts  of  the 
county,  from  time  to  time  appeared,  giving  an  account  of  his 
personal  investigation.  It  may  be  said  of  Henry  Hart,  that 
almost  every  hill  and  dale  in  Donegal  has  been  traversed  by 
him  during  his  searching  inquiries.  Rare  Plants  in  Done- 
gal, Flora  of  Donegal,  Flora  of  Inis-Owen,  and  The  Mountain 
Flora  of  Ireland,  arc  some  of  the  titles  under  which  his 
papers  have  appeared  in  several  serial  publications,  since 
1879.  As  for  instance  in  the  Journal  of  Botany,  Proc.  R.I. A. ^ 
Section  of  Science,  Sclent,  Proc.  Roy.  Dub.  Soc. 
These  have  appeared  with  almost  annual  regularity,  the 
latest  contribution,  The  Mountain  Flora  of  Ireland,  appears 
in  the  Proc.  R.I. A.,  January,  1891. 


28 


218  INIS-OWEN   AND  TIRCONNELL. 

XXII. 

THE  MOST  REV.  JAMES  O'GALLAGHER. 

His  Grace,  the  late  Most  Rev.  Daniel  McGettigan, 
Lord  Archbishop  of  Armagh  and  Primate  of  all  Ireland, 
has  conferred  upon  the  Irish  race,  at  home  and  abroad, 
everlasting  obligations. 

Through  the  Primate's  practical  bounty,  the  volume  of 
Sermons  in  Irish  Gaelic,  written  by  a  former  Bishop  of 
Raphoe,  the  Most  Rev.  James  O'Gallaghcr,  with  an  English 
translation  by  the  late  Rev.  Canon  Ulick  J.  Bourke, 
M.R.I.  A.,  has  been  published.1 

Canon  Bourke,  in  his  preface,  tells  iis  that  hitherto  little 
concerning  the  life  of  Dr.  James  O'Gallaghcr  was  known 
even  in  Raphoe,  and  for  much  of  the  knowledge  he  obtained 
he  was  beholden  to  the  Lord  Archbishop,  and  to  the  Most 
Rev.  Hugh  Conway,  Bishop  of  Killala. 

We  have  learned  from  the  present  Lord  Primate,  Dr. 
Logue,  that  "  the  late  Primate  defrayed  the  expense  of 
publication",  thus  nobly  following  in  the  footsteps  of  one 
of  his  predecessors,  Archbishop  O'Reilly,  through  whose 
exertions  the  works  of  John  Colgan  were  published. 

The  memoir  of  the  life  of  the  Most  Rev.  James 
O'Gallagher, '  Lord  Bishop  of  Raphoc,  given  by  Canon 
Bourke,  is  full  of  historical  interest,  embracing  as  it  does,  a 
stormy  period  in  Irish  history. 

1  Sermons  in  Irish  Gaelic,  by  Most  Rev.  James  O'Gallagher,  with  an 
English  translation,  and  Irish  Gaelic  vocabulary,  by  Eev.  U.  J.  Bourke, 
Dublin,  1877. 


THE  MOST   REV.   JAMES   O'GALLAGHER.  219 

In  Donegal,  the  chief  storehouse  of  events  concerning 
transactions  of  the  period,  [from  1600  almost  up  to  the  time 
of  Catholic  Emancipation  1829,  owing  to  the  complete 
political  extinction  of  those  professing  the  Catholic  faith 
in  that  confiscated  county]  was  to  be  found  among  the 
traditional  remembrances  of  the  people  themselves.  The 
late  Primate  had  many  advantages  for  obtaining  these 
authentic  memories — born  and  brought  up  among  the  moun- 
tain fastnesses  of  Rosgul,  speaking  the  language  of  the  Celtic 
race  from  -which  he  sprang,  imbued  with  the  devotional  feel- 
ings inspired  by  the  observance  of  religious  services  celebra- 
ted in  the  bleak  mountain  sheeling,  in  some  parts  called  a 
ScAbtAti  (Scalon)  ;  this  was  a  gable  or  wall,  with  a  few  feet 
of  thatch  over  the  altar,  which  somewhat  protected  it  from 
rain  and  snow.  The  congregation, however,  had  to  worship  in 
the  open  air,  exposed  to  all  weathers,  and  under  no  covering 
but  unbounded  space — again  as  Coadjutor  to  the  late  Most 
Rev.  Patrick  McGettigan,  who  had,  in  youth  been  acquain- 
ted with  the  old  persons  of  the  dioceses  who  had  seen  and 
heard  the  illustrious  Dr.  James  O'Gallagher. 

It  was  chiefly  from  Dr.  McGettigan  that  Canon  Bourke 
was  enabled  to  give  the  several  incidents  in  the  life  of  Dr. 
O'Gallagher  that  he  has  left  recorded.1  Canon  Bourke's 
remaining  sources  of  information  were  gleaned  from  a  work 
published  by  a  former  chaplain  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant.2 

Dr.  James  O'Gallagher  was  born  in  1681, 3  in  a  townland 
near  Glenties  in  the  parish  of  Iniskeel.'  At  this  period? 

1  Ibid,  preface  pp.  ix-xv. 

2  The  Episcopal  Succession  in  England,  Scotland,  and  Ireland,  by  Rev- 
Maziere  Brady,  (Rome  187G). 

3  Canon  fiourke's  Preface,}),  xxx. 

4  Letter  from  Ki'V,  J.C.  Cannon. 


220  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

students  for  the  Irish  priesthood  were  compelled  to  study 
abroad,  so  O'Gallagher  was  sent  to  the  Irish  College  at 
Paris,  from  which  after  a  few  years  he  went  to  the  College  of 
the  Propaganda  at  Eome,  where  he  completed  his  course 
of  theology.  Canon  Bourke  shows  by  a  letter  from  the 
late  Most  Eev.  James  McDevitt,  written  in  1877,  that  he 
had  been  unable  to  find  any  quite  reliable  tradition  as  to  the 
date  and  exact  place  of  birth  of  Dr.  O'Gallagher,  though  he 
hoped  to  be  able  to  enquire  more  closely. 

Father  O'Gallagher  was  consecrated  at  Drogheda,  on  the 
14th  November,  1725  (old  style),1  to  govern  the  diocese  of 
Raphoe.  He  continued  among  the  people  of  Tirconnell 
for  nine  years,  dressed  in  the  garb  of  a  gentleman  farmer, 
preparing  young  candidates  for  the  priesthood  by  teaching 
them  Greek  and  Latin.  When  visiting  Killygarvan,  near 
Rathmullan,  in  1734,  he  was  the  guest  of  the  parish  priest, 
Father  O'Heagerty.  The  tribal  home  of  the  O'Heagertys  ap- 
pears to  have  been  in  the  district  around  the  Mulroy,  from 
Killygarvan  to  Milford.  O'Heagerty  was  the  name  of  one 
of  the  vicars  who  governed  the  diocese  during  the  episcopal 
vacancy  that  existed  from  the  death  of  Bishop  Nial  O'Boyle, 
(who  died  at  Glen-Eany  in  the  parish  of  Inver  on  the  6th 
of  February,  1616,  and  who  was  interred  at  Inis-Caoil),s 
until  the  appointment  of  Dr.  James  O'Gallagher.  "The  Rev. 
James  O'Heagerty,  D.D.,  for  sometime  rector  of  the 
Roman  Clergy  of  Raphoe",  who  died  on  June  30th,  1715, 
(as  it  is  stated  on  the  marble  slab)  was  interred  in  the  old 
graveyard  of  Fahan  Mura,  together  with  other  ecclesiastics 
of  that  name. 

1  Ibid,  p.  xxxiii. 

*  O'Donovan's  Four  Masters,  vol.  iii.  (1818)  p.  2373. 


THE   MOST   REV.    JAMES   O'GALLAGIIER. 


221 


"  This  table  Cross  of  Fahan  is  unique  in  the  character  of 
its  design  and  the  triune  form  of  its  tracery.  Locally  it  is 
said  to  stand  at  the  head  of  the  burial-place  of  several 
bishops,  whose  names  are  not  remembered.  Some  other 


WEST  FACE.  EAST  FACE. 

CROSS  A.T  FAHAN-MURA. 

traditions  describe  it  as  marking  the  site  of  the  grave  of  St. 
Mura,  the  founder  of  the  Convent  of  Fahan.2 

A  marginal  heading  extends   around   the  edge  of  the 

1  The  Ancient  Cross  of  Fahan  Mura  stands  at.  the]  head  of  the  place 
known  as  the  Bishops'  Graves,  in  which  lies  the  marble  slab  over  the  grave 
of  Dr.  O'Heagerty. 

•  The,  Alley  of  Fahan,  Proceedings  R.I. A.,  2  ser.,  vol.  ii.,  p.  101,  (Dec. 
1881). 


222  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

western  face,  widening  out  at  the  apex  of  the  triangle  that 
forms  the  cross,  into  the  flattened  form  of  serpents'  heads. 

The  interlaced  design  that,  by  a  series  of  knotted  tri- 
quetra  extending  into  the  arms  and  extremities,  forms  the 
carved  outlines  of  the  cross,  renders  it  a  remarkable  speci- 
men among  the  many  recorded  examples  of  crosses  of  which 
we  have  any  notice".1  Canon  Bourke  tells  of  the  escape  of  the 
bishop  and  capture  of  Father  O'Heagerty,  by  a  troop  of 
soldiers  from  Milford.  The  story  was  told  by  one  who  was 
present  to  the  Most  Rev.  Patrick  McGettigan,  who  related  it 
to  the  late  Primate.  During  an  attempt  at  rescue,  a  magis- 
trate named  Buchanan,  shot  his  prisoner  Father  O'Heagerty 
dead.  It  was  while  in  seclusion  on  one  of  the  islands  in  Loch 
Erne  near  Donegal,  during  a  period  of  twelve  months 
after  his  escape  from  Killygarvan,  that  Dr.  O'Gallagher 
re-wrote  and  prepared  for  publication  the  sermons  he  had 
from  time  to  time  preached  to  his  flock  in  the  Celtic  lan- 
guage. 

The  first  edition  of  these  sermons  were  published  in  Dublin 
(1736)  in  modern  Roman  characters,  with  phonetic  spelling. 
The  author  says  "  I  have  in  spelling  kept  nearer  to  the 
present  manner  of  speaking  than  to  the  true  and  ancient 
orthography".  This  work  passed  through  eighteen  editions 
up  to  1820. 

On  the  18th  of  May,  1737,  Dr.  O'Gallagher  was  translated 
from  the  diocese  of  Raphoe  to  that  of  Kildare  and  Leighlin. 
Dr.  O'Gallagher's  episcopal  residence  was  at  Allen,  en- 
vironed by  the  bog  of  that  name.  Bringing  with  him  his  apti- 
tude for  literary  work,  in  1740,  he  published  the  second 

'   Proceedings  E.I, A.,  3rd  Scries,  Vol.  ii.,  p- 113. 


THE   MOST   REV.   DR,   MAGONIGLE.  223 

edition  of  his  Irish  sermons;  in  1741,  he  had  read  and 
approved  of  Dr.  Donlevy's  Irish-English  catechism.  Dr. 
O'Gallagher  still  continued  to  afford  instruction  to  aspirants 
for  the  priesthood.  The  celebrated  Dr.  Doyle  (J.K.L.), 
writing  on  the  8th  of  May,  1823,  says  of  Dr.  O'Gallagher, 
"  The  haunts  and  retreats  frequented  by  the  bishop  of  Kil- 
dare  in  the  times  of  persecution  are  still  pointed  out  by  the 
aged  inhabitants  of  those  marshes  with  a  sort  of  pride 
mingled  with  piety — they  say  '  there  he  administered  Con- 
firmation ;  there  he  held  an  assembly  of  the  clergy ;  on  that 
hill  he  ordained  some  young  priests  whom  he  sent  to 
France,  to  Spain,  or  to  Italy, —he  lived  in  yonder  old  walls 
in  common  with  the  young  priests  whom  he  prepared  for 
the  mission.  He  sometimes  left  us  with  a  staff  in  his  hand, 
and,  being  absent  for  months,  we  feared  he  would  never 
return ;  but  he  always  came  back  until  he  closed  his  days 
amongst  us".1 

Dr.  O'Gallagher's  Celtic  Irish  sermons  were  more 
generally  distributed  throughout  the  south  and  west  of 
Ireland,  than  they  were  in  his  native  Donegal.  Many  of  the 
Irish  scholars  on  both  sides  of  the  Shannon,  especially 
throughout  the  Counties  of  Limerick  and  Clare,  had  in  their 
possession  copies  of  Dr.  O'Gallagher's  Irish  sermons. 

His  death  took  place  in  May,  1751,  and  his  uninscribed 
grave  without  a  slab,  is  in  the  little  cemetery  of  Allen.2 

DR.    MAGONIGLE. 

Dr.    MacCongail,    or  Magonigle,  Bishop    of    Raphoe, 

1  Life,  Times,  etc.,  of  Dr.  Doyle,  by  W.  J.  Fitzpatrick,  vol.  i. 

2  Canon  Burke's  Memoir,  p.  Ixiii. 


224  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

consecrated  at  Koine  in  the  year  1662,  is  remarkable  as 
having  assisted  at  the  Council  of  Trent  in  1563.  In  1587 
he  was  present  at  the  Ulster  Provincial  Council,  at  which 
the  decrees  of  the  Council  of  Trent  were  promulgated. 
He  died  at  Killybegs,  September  29th,  1589.1 

DR.  MCDBVITT. 

James  McDevitt,  afterwards  Bishop  of  Eaphoe,  was  born 
at  Glenties,  Tirconnell,  in  1832,  receiving  part  of  his  early 
education  under  the  guidance  of  his  uncle,  Rev.  J.  McDevitt, 
P.P.,  Templecrone.     He  commenced  his  classical  training 
at  the   Grammar   School  of  Inver,  from  which  after   some 
time  he  went  to  the  High  School  of  Letterkenny,  then  under 
the  presidency  vof  Doctor  Crerand.     Having  from  his  youth 
a  tendency  towards  a  religious  life,  he  entered  in  1850  as 
a  student   the  College  of  Maynooth.     His  progress  there 
was  rapid,  having  been  elected  to  the  Dunboyne  student- 
ship  in  1857.      Father  James    McDevitt  left  Maynooth 
when  he  had  been  ordained,  and  was  elected  a  member  of 
the  community  of  All  Hallows  Missionary  College,  near 
Dublin,  llth  November,  1859,  where  as  professor,  in  that 
celebrated  institution,  he  occupied   the   chair  of  Mental 
Philosophy  for  a  period  of  eleven  years.     Like  most  men 
born  among  the  rugged  hills  of  Donegal,  he  was  passionately 
fond  of  his  native  place.     There  he  spent  his  vacations, 
collecting   the  stories  and  legends   of  Tirconnell,   after- 
wards giving  them  pleasing  shape  and  graceful  form  ,in  a 
work  that  depicts  much  of  the  beauties  of  the  scenery,  and 
the  history  of  Donegal. 

1  O'Donovan's  Four  Masters,  vol.  iii.  (1848  edition)  p.  1879. 


THE  MOST   REV.   JAMES  MCDEVITT.  225 

The  Donegal  Highlands  appeared  in  1866.  His  views 
on  Comics  Positivism  and  The  Syllabus havebeen  published. 
On  the  translation  of  Dr.  Daniel  McGettigan  to  the 
Primatial  See  of  Armagh, in  1870,  Dr.  McDevitt  was  raised 
to  the  vacant  See  of  Eaphoe,  and  was  consecrated  on  the 
30th  April,  1871.  Education  received  from  Dr.  McDevitt 
special  attention,  and  his  Letters  on  University  Education, 
appeared  in  1872,  he  was  an  ardent  lover  of  the  Celtic 
tongue,  in  which  he  often  addressed  the  Irish-speaking 
population  during  the  visitations  of  his  diocese. 

Dr.  McDevitt  died  at  Glenties  on  the  5th  January,  1879. 
His  life  and  labours  as  a  priest,  and  bishop,  have  been  faith- 
fully and  fraternally  recorded  in  a  memoir  written  by  his 
brother.  His  remains  lie  interred  close  to  the  church  at 
Letterkenny,  in  the  spot  selected  by  himself.1 

JOHN  MCDEVITT,  D.D., 

brother  of  the  late  Bishop  of  Raphoe,  was  born  at  Glenties, 
having  received  his  early  training  at  Letterkenny,  and 
completed  his  college  course  at  Kome. 

Dr.  John  McDevitt,  during  the  armed  protest  made  by 
Pius  IX,  through  General  Lamorciere,  against  the  spoliation 
of  the  States  of  the  Church,  was  interned  at  Spoletto,  along 
with  the  Irish  Brigade  of  which  he  was  chaplain.  Since 
his  return  to  Ireland,  he  has  occupied  the  chair  of  Sacred 
Literature  in  All  Hallows  Missionary  College,  Dublin. 

Dr.  John  McDevitt,  in  addition  to  his  Life  of  the  Bishop 
of  Raphoe  has,  it  may  be  said,  written  the  history  of  the 

1  Life  of  James  McDevitt,  by  Rev,  JohnJMcDevitt,  D.D.  (Dublin,  1880). 

29 


226  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

College  of  All  Hallows  in  Ms  work  the  Life  of  Father  Hand, 
who  founded  the  College  in  1840. 

Dr.  McDevitt,  has  also  published  an  Introduction  to  the 
Sacred  Scriptures,1  a  work  that  has  received  the  warm 
approval  of  His  Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Dublin,  Dr. 
Walsh,  as  well  as  other  ecclesiastical  critics  of  distinction. 

DE.    MCGHETTIGAN. 

Daniel  McGettigan  was  born  at  Drumdutton,  in  the 
parish  of  Mevagh,  not  far  from  Doe  Castle,  in  November, 
1814.  Having  completed  his  studies  in  Maynooth  College, 
he  entered  the  priesthood,  when  for  several  years  in  various 
parts  of  the  Diocese  ofRaphoe,  he  actively  fulfilled  his 
duties  as  a  pastor  among  the  people. 

On  the  18th  May,  1856,  he  was  consecrated  Coadjutor 
to  the  Bishop  of  Raphoe,  Dr.  Patrick  McGettigan,  whom 
he  succeeded  on  the  1st  May,  1861,  and  was  translated  to 
the  See  of  Armagh  as  Archbishop,  and  Primate  of  All 
Ireland,  llth  March,  1870. 

During  Dr.  McGettigan's  administration  in  Letterkenny 
an  incident  occurred  that  marked  one  of  his  many  sterling 
qualities — that  distinguishing  quality  of  the  Irish  priest- 
hood, so  difficult  of  being  understood  by  those  who  do  not 
recieve  their  ministrations,  but  which  appears  so  natural 
and  intelligible  to  the  mind  of  an  Irish  Catholic — namely 
the  non-betrayal  of  a  confidence. 

It  appears  that  he  was  consulted  confidentially  in  a 
case  of  restitution,  in  connection  with  a  form  of  law  known 
in  Tirconnell  as  a  "  Glenswilly  Decree";  which  is  an 

1  Dublin,  1880. 


THE   MOST  REV.    DANIEL   MCGETTIGAN.  227 

instrument  of  power  that  runs  outside  the  limits  of  an 
English  Act  of  Parliament.  Whether  this  law  was  framed 
originally  at  Tara  when  St.  Adamnan  the  patron  of 
Raphoe  procured  (about  A.D.  700)  the  assembling  of 
the  Convocation  of  States,  or  whether  it  is  recorded  in  the 
Seanchas  Mor,  or  is  merely  a  Nos  tuaithe  or  tribal  law,  we 
are  unable  to  say.  Yet  the  law  authorizing  the  issue  of  a 
Glenswilly  Decree  had  not  that  barbarous  origin  that 
some  persons  believe,  who  can  see  nothing  good  in  any 
Irish  custom. 

There  is  a  law  tract  in  the  Leabhar  Breac,1  or  speckled 
book,  entitled  the  Cain  Domlmaigh,  or  Law  of  Sunday, 
that  would  satisfy  the  strictest  of  Sabbatarians.  This  law 
we  are  told  was  first  brought  from  Rome  by  St.  Connell  of 
Iniskeel,  who  died  towards  the  end  of  the  sixth  century.2 
Tirconnell  had  been  in  contact  with  the  most  advanced 
centres  of  civilization,  long  previous  to  the  advent  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  into  Ireland. 

The  mode  of  enacting  these  tribal  or  local  laws,  by  the 
chief  men  of  the  Tuath  were  as  carefully  discussed  as 
the  framing  of  bye-laws  are  by  modern  societies — where 
no  act  of  injustice  is  done  under  its  sanction  it  matters 
little  by  what  popular  title  the  law  is  recognised.  The 
remains  of  ancient  laws  are  found  to  be  almost  universally 
respected  by  the  people  of  Tirconnell  and  Inis-Owen  ;  as 
instanced  in  the  custom  relating  to  the  property  of  a 
deceased  wife — Where  the  husband  has  received  a  dowry 
in  kind  with  his  wife,  and  the  latter  dying  without  issue 

1  Manuscript  in  the  R.I.  A. 

2  Manners  and  Customs  of  the  Ancient  Irish — by    E.  O'Curry,  vol.  ii. 
p,  33  (London,  etc,  1873). 


228  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

shortly  after  the  marriage,  then  the  nearest  relatives  of  the 
deceased  wife  are  given  back  the  goods  and  chattels  with 
which  at  the  time  of  the  marriage  she  was  endowed. 
So  it  has  been  with  the  issuing  of  Glenswilly  decrees  ; 
when  the  traditions  of  local  laws  promulgated  long 
anterior  to  the  introduction  of  an  English  sheriff  into  Done- 
gal, held  a  place  in  equity  with  the  people.  In  the 
chapters  on  "  Popular  assemblies  and  Legislation,"  in  the 
learned  introduction  to  O'Curry's  Manners  and  Customs, 
of  the  Ancient  Irish,  the  mode  of  procedure,  manner  of 
the  enactment  of  both  general  and  tribal  laws  are  there 
explained.  ' 

Glenswilly  had  been  famous  for  the  extensive  manufac- 
ture in  former  days  of  what  is  known  as  poteen  whiskey. 

This  manufacture  was  carried  on  without  permission 
from  the  Inland  Revenue  collectors.  And  it  sometimes 
happened  that  dishonest  or  tricky  purchasers  of  the  con- 
trabrand  acticle  failed  to  pay  for  the  goods  they  received 
— taking  advantage  of  their  knowledge  that  no  prosecu- 
tion could  be  sustained  by  the  vendor. 

When  a  case  of  this  kind  took  place,  which  seldom 
occurred,  a  tribal  council  was  held  by  the  distillers,  after 
hearing  all  the  particulars,  they  sometimes  issued  a  judicial 
order,  or  "  Glenswilly  Decree",  directed  against  the 
defaulting  purchaser. 

This  decree  authorized  the  seizure  of  a  horse,  or  other 
animal,  and  the  placing  of  it  in  safety  until  the  debt  had 
been  fairly  paid. 

So  soon  as  the  delinquent  paid  his  contracted  debt,  the 
horse  or  other  animal  was  returned  to  its  owner. 

1  Introduction,  Manners  and  Customs,  by  W.  K.  Sullivan,  vol  1.  p  cclii. 


THE  MOST  KEV.   DANIEL  MCGETTIGAN.  229 

Dr.  McGettigan  having  been  consulted  confidentially  in 
a  case  of  this  kind,  restitution  was  made  to  the  proper  party 
by  the  advice  of  the  priest.  It  ought  to  be  stated  that  the 
information  given  to  Dr.  McGettigan  was  not  in  the  con- 
fessional, but  in  his  capacity  as  a  confidential  adviser. 
The  affair  having  been  brought  under  the  notice  of  the 
magistrates  of  the  district,  the  upholders  of  the  law  summoned 
Dr.  McGettigan  to  give  evidence.  When  the  case  was 
called,  he  refused  to  turn  informer,  stating  that  he  looked 
upon  the  confidential  nature  of  the  communication  as  a 
thing  too  sacred,  and  were  it  not  that  the  party  when  asking 
advice,  believed  their  story  would  not  be  retold,  it  would  not 
have  been  communicated.  The  magistrates  issued  a 
warrant  against  Dr.  McGettigan,  and  had  him  lodged  in 
jail  for  "  compounding  a  felony".  The  priest  would  not 
betray  the  confidence  of  his  flock  ;  and  in  .this  knowledge 
consists  the  mainspring  of  that  bond  of  union  that  exists 
between  priests  and  people  in  Ireland.1 

Dr.  McGettigan  was  among  the  Irish  prelates  who  were 
present  at  the  Vatican  Council.  His  great  characteristics 
were  his  devotion  to  his  religious  duties  as  a  priest  and 
bishop,  and  his  love  for  the  people  of  Donegal.  The 
affection  with  which  Dr.  McGettigan  regarded  his  native 
county  was  very  intense.  Even  when  called  to  assume 
the  cares  and  duties  of  the  Primacy  of  All  Ireland,  and 
where  he  consequently  had  to  form  new  ties,  his  love  for 
Donegal  did  not  lessen.  On  the  occasion  of  the  con- 
secration of  the  church  built  by  the  late  William  A.  Ross, 
near  Dunlewey  Lake,  under  the  shadow  of  storm -stained 
Erigle,  when  replying  to  the  toast  of  his  health  proposed 
1  The  Monitor,  Dublin,  August  28th,  1875. 


230  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

after  the  ceremony,  Dr.  McGettigan  speaking  of  his 
affection  for  Donegal  we  heard  Mm  say—  as  the  great  tears 
trickled  fadown  his  handsome  face — "  why  I  love  even  the 
very  sparrows  of  my  dear  Donegal". 

His  appearance  as  a  consecrating  prelate  was  strikingly 
imposing,  combining  as  it  did  the  humility  of  a  child,  with 
the  dignity  of  a  Pontiff. 

DR.    MAGINN 

The  Most  Rev.  Edward  Maginn,  D.D.,  though  born  at 
Fintona,  Co.  Tyrone,  came  at  so  early  an  age  to  Inis-Owen, 
where  afterwards  as  priest  and  bishop  he  resided,  that  he 
may  be  fairly  claimed  as  belonging  to  the  peninsula.  , 

Coming  to  Inis-Owen  at  the  age  of  five  years,  he  inhaled 
with  his  youth  the  vigorous  Atlantic  air  that  breaks  first 
over  its  brown  mountains. 

Dr.  Maginn  received  his  early  education  under  the 
tuition  of  an  eminent  classical  scholar,  Thomas  McColgan 
of  Carrig-a-Mullen  in.the  parish  of  Clonmany.  Although 
McColgan,  so  far  as  we  know  has  left  no  literary  work  of  his 
own  behind,  yet  his  teaching  has  borne  ample  fruit. 
McColgan  received  his  education  in  France  at  a  time  when 
no  adequate  means  were  available  for  Catholics  to  be  edu- 
cated at  home.  His  position  as  a  graduate  of  the  Univer- 
sity of  Paris  enhanced  Thomas  McColgan's  culture  as  a 
distinguished  teacher. 

o 

Dr.  Maginn,  at  a  critical  period  in  the  history  of  Ireland, 
was  recognized  as  an  advocate  of  the  rights  of  the  Irish 
people,  the  champion  of  their  wrongs,  and  the  intrepid 
expounder  of  their  principles. 


THE  MOST   REV.   EDWARD  MAGINN.  231 

His  sparkling  letters  to  Lord  Stanley  [afterwards  Earl 
Derby,  known  to  history  by  O'Connell's  title  of"  Scorpion 
Stanley",  on  account  of  the  bitterness  he  displayed  towards 
Ireland  and  Irish  Catholics]  are  specimens  rarely  surpassed 
in  boldness  and  manly  dignity,  with  condensed  argument 
and  erudition  combined. 

When  parish  priest  of  the  then  united  parishes  of  Upper 
and  Lower  Fahan,  Dr.  Maginn  resided  at  the  Cottage, 
Buncrana,  which  was  in  its  way  quite  as  important  a  centre 
for  the  Catholic  people  of  Inis-Owen,  and  the  North,  as 
Holland  House  in  London  was  at  one  time  for  English 
Whig  politicians. 

Here,  around  Dr.  Maginn,  radiated  much  of  the  talent 
that  found  expression  by  voice  and  pen,  through  many 
Irish  workers  who  came  to  consult,  and  who  departed 
from  Buncrana,  laden  with  facts  and  ideas  which  were 
afterwards  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  country.  William 
Smith  O'Brien,  Thomas  D'Arcy  McGee,  and  we  believe 
Charles  Gavan  Duffy,  were  visitors  at  the  Cottage. 
Amongst  the  men  of  distinction  who  were  locally  associated 
with  Dr.  Maginn  was  the  Rev.  Philip  Devlin,  D.D.,  Vicar- 
General  of  the  diocese,  and  the  Eev.  William  Hegarty. 

Dr.  Devlin  was  born  in  Buncrana,  in  1816,  and  belonged 
to  a  talented  family,  that  emigrated  to  America  about  1840, 
where  two  of  his  brothers  became  merchant  princes  in  New 
York,  and  there  occupied  places  of  distinction.  The  Rev. 
William  Hegarty,  afterwards  P.P.  of  Strabane,  was  also  a 
native  of  Inis-Owen,  and  a  remarkable  instance  of  the  per- 
severance of  Celtic  genius  ;  he  was  born  in  the  Island  of 
Inch,  and  acted  in  the  capacity  of  secretary  to  Dr.  Maginn, 
sharing  with  Dr.  Devlin  a  portion  of  the  literary  work 


232  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

done  by  the  bishop  in  defence  of  the  Irish  people,  and  the 
Irish  priesthood ;  Father  Hegarty  was  an  eloquent  pulpit 
orator,  a  poet  of  some  merit,  and  an  excellent  classical 
scholar.  Dr.  Devlin  was  educated  at  the  College  of  May- 
nooth,  and  was  delegated  by  the  Irish  bishops  to  collect 
funds  in  America  for  the  founding  of  the  Irish  Catholic 
University.  After  his  return  he  repaired  to  Rome,  there  he 
received  hia  Divinity  Degree,  not  as  an  honorary  distinc- 
tion, but  from  his  abilities  and  knowledge  of  theology  and 
history  displayed  at  a  public  thesis  on  these  subjects. 

Dr.  Maginn,  as  described  by  Sir  Charles  Gavan  Duffy, 
was  "  a  man  of  remarkable  vigour  and  great  popularity", 
he  was  generally  recognized  as  the  patriot  bishop  of  the 
North.  The  Secessionists  of  the  1848  movement  claimed 
Dr.  Maginn  as  belonging  to  their  party,  and  the  resolutions 
from  his  diocese  were  hailed  with  acclamation,  but  Duffy 
says  when  scrutinized  they  were  found  to  contain  identical 
reservations  on  which  the  Seceders  were  forced  to  retire 
"without  pronouncing  on  the  abstract  question,  whether 
nations  should  under  any  circumstances  appeal  to  arms,  it 
is  certain  they  said  that  moral  force  is  in  concord  with  the 
genius  of  Christianity  and  applicable  to  the  case  of 
Ireland".1 

The  question  of  the  extent  of  Dr.  Maginn's  coincidence 
with  the  views  of  the  advanced  Young  Irelanders  is  now  a 
subject  not  likely  to  be  cleared  up.  There  cannot  remain 
a  doubt  that  the  hardships  of  the  people,  and  the  misery 
the  bishop  had  seen  produced  by  famine,  exercised  a 
great  influence  on  his  mind  ;  yet  Duffy  says  "  he  had  re- 
monstrated with  me  in  a  friendly  way  at  the  time  of  the 
1  Sir  C.  G.  Duffy's  Young  Ireland,  part  ii.,  p.  92. 


THE  MOST  EEV.  EDWARD  MAGINN.  233 

Secession  had  come  gradually  to   agree  more  and  more 
with  the  Seceders". 

'•'  After  the  French  revolution  he  became  impatient  for 
action,  it  is  alleged,  but  he  had  not  committed  himself  in  any 
way  before  the  arrests.  One  morning  Dr.  Gray,  came  to 
me  in  Newgate,  and  told  me  that  the  bishop,  who  was  then 
in  Dublin,  authorized  him  to  assure  me  that  if  the  insur- 
rectionary movement  were  postponed  for  three  months  till 
the  harvest  would  be  stored,  he  would  join  it  himself  with 
twenty  officers  in  black  uniforms.  I  asked  Dr.  Gray  if 
this  officer  expressed  his  own  intentions  ;  he  replied,  he  was 
a  messenger  merely  in  the  transaction.  I  rejoined  that  it 
was  a  business  too  momentous  to  be  negotiated  with  any 
but  principals.  The  same  overtures  were  made  by  the 
same  intermediary  to  O'Brien.  He  replied,  that  things  had 
been  brought  to  such  a  pass  that  he  must  fight ;  as  to  the 
time,  that  did  not  depend  upon  him,  but  principally  upon  the 
Government ;  for  himself,  the  most  he  hoped  for  in  the  dis- 
turbed state  of  the  country  was  an  honourable  grave".1 

Duffy  in  a  footnote  adds — "  A  clergyman  related  to  Dr. 
Maginn  asserts  that  he  never  could  have  authorized  such 
a  message ;  but  that  is  a  question  upon  which  I  cannot  enter". 

The  Rev.  Edward  McKenna,  P.P.,  Limavady,  himself 
a  native  of  Inis-Owen,  gives  a  different  account,  and  lest  it 
might  suffer  in  any  respect  we  use  his  own  words — <%  Dr. 
Devlin  assured  him  (Rev.  E.  McKenna)  that  he  received 
the  account  from  Dr.  Maginn  himself;  that  when  the  bishop, 
who  was  acompanied  by  the  Doctor,  went  to  Tullamore  to 
provide  nuns  for  the  City  of  Deny,  he  went  also  to  see 

1  Sir  C.  G.  Duffy's  Young  Ireland,  pp.  225-226.  See  Life  of  Dr. 
Maginn,  by  T.  D'Arcy  McGee,  pp.  143-109,  New  York,  1857. 

30 


284  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Smith  O'Brien,  and  that  when  he  was  closeted  alone  with 
him,  he  went  down  on  his  knees,  bishop  though  he  was,  and 
begged  of  him  for  God  sake  to  desist  from  his  resolve  to 
proceed  with  the  Irish  insurrection". — We  shall  not  attempt 
to  solve  the  question  at  issue,  but  one  thing  is  clear,  that 
O'Brien  and  Dr.  Maginn  had  discussed  the  probabilities 
and  possibilities  of  the  situation  together. 

It  may  be  fairly  stated  that  to  Dr.  Maginn  and  his  con- 
temporary priests,  the  Catholics  of  Inis-Owen  owe  much. 
Schools  and  churches  began  to  show  themselves  as  objects 
on  the  landscape,  where  hitherto  the  poor  substitutes  for 
churches  were  only  tolerated  in  the  sequestered  glen,  or 
when  under  watch  the  people  stole  to  worship  on  the 
mountain  slope. 

The  Author's  recollection  of  Dr.  Maginn  is  of  the  time 
when  he  received  the  Sacrament  of  Confirmation  from  that 
prelate,  in  a  manner  that  left  on  the  recipient  a  lasting 
remembrance  of  the  earnestness  of  the  bishop's  act. 

Dr.  Maginn's  episcopal  career  was  short,  but  eventful; 
consecrated  in  the  Cathedral  Waterside  on  the  18th 
January,  1846;  he  died  on  the  17th  January,  1849.  He 
was  born  on  the  16th  December,  1802.  His  remains 
rest  in  the  graveyard  adjoining  Cockhill  church  near 
Buncrana,  among  the  mountains  and  people  of  Inis-Owen, 
both  of  which  he  loved  so  well.  A  wooden  substitute 
for  a  tomb  has  been  placed  over  his  remains,  on  which  'is 
placed  his  title  in  the  Episcopacy,  giving  dates  and  style 
as  Bishop  of  Orthosia,  and  Apostolic  Administrator  of 
Deny.1 

1  Orthosia,  the  ancient  name  of  a  seaport  in  Syria,  now  supposed  to  he 
Tortosa. 


THE  MOST  REV.  MICHAEL  LOGUE,  D.D.,  235 

Dr.  Logue,  Archbishop  of  Armagh  and  Lord  Primate  of 
All  Ireland,  was  born  about  1840,  in  the  parish  of  Meevagh, 
near  Doe  Castle.  After  having  received  his  classical  educa- 
tion in  Ireland,  he  went  to  the  Irish  College,  Paris,  where  he 
became  Professor  of  Dogmatic  Theology,  he  returned  to 
Ireland,  and  occupied  the  chairs  of  Scripture  and  Irish,  in 
the  College  of  St.  Patrick,  Maynooth.  Dr.  Logue  succeeded 
to  the  Bishopric  of  Raphoe  after  the  death  of  Dr.  James 
McDevitt,  and  was  consecrated  on  the  20th  July,  1879. 
Dr.  Logue  during  his  episcopal  direction  of  Raphoe,  took 
a  deep  interest  in  every  movement  that  had  for  its  object 
the  amelioration  of  the  people  of  his  native  county.  During 
the  passing  of  the  Redistribution  of  Seats  Bill,  in  1884-5, 
Dr.  Logue  applied  the  knowledge  he  possessed  in  guarding 
the  divisions  of  Donegal  against  undue  interference  with 
the  political  rights  of  his  people.  On  the  death  of  Dr, 
McGettigan,  Dr.  Logue  was  elected  to  the  Archbishopric 
of  Armagh.  Strange  that  Donegal,  not  only  gave  two 
Primates  in  succession  to  the  See  of  Armagh,  but  that  both 
were  born  in  the  parish  of  Meevagh  ! 

Dr.  Logue,  is  an  eloquent  pulpit  orator,  a  distinguished 
theologian,  and  one  of  the  most  accomplished  scholars  of 
the  Irish  Church. 

« 

DENIS  O'DONNELL 

Denis  O'Donnell  was  born  in  the  parish  of  Clonmany,  in 
the  year,  1700,  he  died  on  the  9th  April,  1778,  a  slab  to  his 
memory  is  placed  in  the  graveyard  adjoining  the  ancient  site 

1  Harkin's  Inis-  Owen>  p.  73. 


236  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

of  the  church  of  St.  Columkille.  O'Donnell  was  a  poet, 
and  the  author  of  a  celebrated  planxty  entitled  Plerarca-na- 
bhollon.1  Here  in  this  church  of  St.  Columkille  was  pre- 
served The  Miosach,  one  of  the  three  battle  standards  said 
to  have  been  given  by  Saint  Cairnech  of  Dulane  near  Kells 
to  the  Kinel-Connell  and  the  Kinel-Owen. 

REV.  JOHN  MCLAUGHLIN. 

Rev.  John  McLaughlin,  born  in  Glentogher,  in  the  parish 
of  Donagh  in  1785,  received  his  education  (as  did  then  the 
most  of  the  Irish  priesthood)  abroad.  He  was  afterwards 
appointed  parish  priest  of  Ballynascreen,  in  the'county  of 
Derry.  Ho  was  an  eminent  Irish  scholar,  and  transcribed 
a  portion  of  the  Book  of  Lecan.  He  died  on  the  28th 
October,  1813.1 

DR.  CRERAND  AND  FRANCIS  GALLAGHER. 

Dr.  Crerand  was  born  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Letter- 
kenny,  and  was  an  M.D.  of  the  Paris  University.  He 
resided  in  France  for  over  twenty  years,  devoting  himself 
to  literature,  and  published  an  Anglo-French  Grammar. 
About  the  period  of  the  revolution  of  1848,  he  returned  to 
his  native  town,  where  he  taught  a  classical  school  with 
success.  He  was  a  man  of  exceptional  ability  and  culture. 

His  successor,  Francis  Gallagher,  was  in  many  respects  a 
remarkable  man.  Having  studied  for  the  Church  he 
entered  Maynooth ;  he  became  a  student  and  scholar  of  the 
Catholic  University,  and  obtained  its  best  record,  as  an 
Irish  scholar  he  wrote  several  articles. 

1  Harkirfs  Inis-Owen,  p.  109. 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  237 

The  present  Bishop  of  Kaphoe,  preparatory  to  his  entering 
the  Catholic  University,  received  a  portion  of  his  early  train- 
ing under  the  direction  of  Francis  Gallagher.  To  others  who 
know  more  of  these  two  educationists  than  has  come  to  the 
knowledge  of  the  Author,  we  leave  the  task  of  recording 
their  abilities.  Francis  Gallagher  died  at  Glencolumkille 
in  1879. 

BISHOP  ROGERS. 

The  Most  Rev.  James  Rogers  was  born  in  Mountcharles, 
near  Donegal  town,  on  the  llth  July,  1826.  He  was 
educated  for  the  priesthood  and  ordained  in  1851.  Dr. 
Rogers  became  professor  at  St.  Mary's  College,  Halifax, 
in  1859,  and  was  consecrated  first  Roman  Catholic 
Bishop  of  Chatham,  New  Brunswick,  in  I860.1  "We  have 
been  unable  to  procure  a  list  of  his  several  contributions 
to  literature. 

THOMAS   DOHERTY. 

Thomas  Doherty,  an  eminent  special  pleader,  was  born  in 
Ireland  about  the  middle  of  the  18th  century.  As  to  the 
exact  locality  of  his  birth,  we  have  been  unable  to  obtain 
information,  but  that  he  or  his  parents  belonged  to  Inis- 
Owen  there  can  exist  little  doubt.  He  received  little  of  an 
early  education,  having  acquired  his  legal  knowledge  by 
close  application  after  hours  when  the  duties  he  was  en- 
gaged upon  in  the  office  of  a  London  lawyer,  Mr.  Bower, 
permitted. 

1  Appleton's  Biography,  vol.  v.  p.  306,  New  York,  (1888). 


238  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIKCONNELL. 

He  was  author  of  The  History  of  the  Pleas  of  the  Crown, 
The  Crown  Circuit  Companion,  and  other  valuable  legal 
works. 

He  died  at  his  chambers,  Clifford's  Inn,  London,  29th 
November,  ]  805.  In  a  contemporary  article  he  is  spoken 
of  as  having  had  a  character  for  private  worth,  modest 
and  unassuming  manners,  independence  of  mind,  and  of 
strict  honour,  and  probity.  Like  most  close  students,  his 
intense  application  undermined  his  health .' 

FRANCIS  MAKEMIE. 

Francis  Makemie,  (or  Macamee)  was  born  in  Ramelton, 
County  Donegal,  in  1682,  and  was  one  of  the  early  settlers 
in  Virginia,  where  he  became  a  Presbyterian  divine.  Like 
some  others  of  the  early  settlers,  he  did  not  separate  his 
clerical  duties  entirely  from  worldly  affairs,  having  been  also 
engaged  for  a  time  in  the  West  India  trade.  Preaching 
without  a  licence  was  then  considered  in  America  to  be  a 
crime,  and  when  acting  in  the  capacity  of  preacher  at 
Yew  York  in  1707,  he  was  arrested  by  Governor  Combury, 
and  underwent  two  months  imprisonment.  The  Governor 
in  justification  of  his  action  reported  that  Makemie  was  a 
"  preacher,  a  doctor  of  physic,  a  merchant,  an  attorney,  a 
counsellor-at-law  (and  what  was  not  to  be  endured  even  in  a 
Presbyterian  divine),  a  disturber  of  governments".  Makemie 
made  a  noise  over  his  arrest  and  imprisonment,  and  printed 
a  pamphlet  or  Narrative  of  the  case,  with  many  other  tracts, 
which  have  since  been  republished.  His  Answer  to  George 
Keith's  Libel,  bears  the  imprimatur  of  Increase  Mather.2 

1  Gentleman's  Magazine, 

2  Boston,  1692. 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  .239 

Makemie  only  survived  a  year  after  that  of  his  imprison- 
ment, dying  at  Boston,  1708.1 

P.  S.  CASSIDY. 

Patrick  Sarsfield  Cassidy,  an  eminent  journalist  and 
poet,  was  born  at  Dunkineeley.  We  cannot  say  whether 
his  talent  for  verse  be  a  fairy-gift,  due  to  his  having  been 
born  on  "All  Hallows  Eve",  1852,  within  the  environ- 
ment of  the  ancient  Dun  from  which  the  town  derives 
its  name,  when  according  to  the  fairy  mythology  of 
Ireland,  those  mysterious  inhabitants  from  the  spirit  world 
on  that  particular  eve  disport  themselves  with  greater 
freedom — Or  because  that  his  early  days  were  spent  among 
the  enchanting"  valleys  of  the  Glenswilly  mountains. 
He  received  his  early  training  in  classics  from  his  uncle, 
the  Rev.  Fr.  McGroarty,  afterwards  parish  priest  of  Glen- 
columkill.  His  first  contribution  to  literature  was  a 
poem  which  appeared  in  a  Dublin  publication  entitled  A 
Legend  of  Tory  Island,  or,  Si.  Columb's  Conquest  over  the 
Druids. 

When  he  was  only  about  eighteen  years  of  age,  from  the 
impressions  he  had  received  through  being  a  constant  com- 
panion with  Father  McGroarty  throughout  the  Glenveagh 
trials,  he  had  collected  the  materials  for  his  story  of 
Glenveagh,  which  was  published  in  the  Boston  Pilot  after 
his  emigration  to  America  about  1870.  From  his  pen 
appeared  an  Ossianic  poem  on  the  Flight  of  Diarmuidand 
Gramne. 

1  Drake's  Dictionary,  Boston,  187G. 


240  INIS-OWEN  AND   T1RCONNELL. 

The  Journalist*  gives  an  excellent  likeness  of  P.  S. 
Cassidy,  who  was  then  city  editor  of  the  Sunday  Mercury, 
with  a  short  article  on  his  career.  His  first  press  work  was 
in  reporting  a  lecture  given  by  a  coloured  parson  in  the 
Sullivan  Street  Church,  of  which  he  gave  so  vigorous  a 
rendering,  that  it  immediately  attracted  the  attention  of  the 
readers  of  the  World,  where  it  appeared.  This  won  for  him 
recognition,  two  months  later  he  joined  the  staff  of  the  city 
Press  Association.  Glenveagh,  after  passing  through  the 
Boston  Pilot,  was  published  in  book  form  and  enjoyed  a 
large  circulation. 

Jn  1875,  P.  S.  Cassidy,  joined  the  night  staff  of  the 
Associated  Press,  taking  control  of  the  cable  despatch 
department,  during  the  same  time  he  supplied  editorial 
articles  to  two  weekly  papers,  editing  as  well  the  Magazine 
of  which  he  was  part  proprietor.  This  strain  was  too 
much  and  began  to  tell  even  on  his  vigorous  constitution. 
He  left  the  Associated  Press  after  about  ten  years  work, 
and  in  1885  became  city  editor  of  the  Sunday  Mercury. 
His  work  is  not  confined  to  this  paper  alone,  he  is  a  contri- 
butor, and  special  writer,  upon  various  weekly  and  monthly 
publications. 

P.  S.  Cassidy  preserves  all  the  best  traits  of  character 
so  distinctive  of  the  Tyrconnellian  race,  his  warm  impulsive 
heart  gives  a  brilliancy  of  tone  to  his  writting,  he  is 
described  by  American  Press  reports,  "  as  a  graceful  and 
pleasing  writer  of  poetry,  a  clear  descriptive  writer,  and  a 
man  whose  popularity  is  as  wide  as  his  name  is  well- 
known". 

1  New  York,  April  28tb,  1888. 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  241 

In  the  Donegal  Christmas  Annual,  containing  stories  and 
songs  by  several  talented  contemporary  Donegal  writers, 
Cassidy  contributes  a  poem  entitled  The  Maidens  of  Dear 
Donegal* 

GWEEDORE. 

Lord  George  Augusta  Hill,  of  Bally  var  House,  near  Ramel- 
ton,  and  of  the  Gweedore  Hotel,  was  born  in  1801.  He  has 
left  hia  literary  fame  enshrined  on  the  pages  of  Facts  from 
Gweedore^  and  Hints  to  Donegal  Tourists*  The  first  publica- 
tion tells  of  how  "  in  the  year  1838  and  subsequently,  Lord 
George  A.  Hill,  purchased  small  properties  situated  at 
Gweedore,  to  the  extent  of  twenty-three  thousand  acres, 
with  a  population  of  about  three  thousand,  of  which  nearly 
seven  hundred  were  paying  rent".  This  work  is  instructive, 
as  it  says— "The  social  condition  of  the  peasantry  previously 
to  the  transfer  of  these  properties  (to  Lord  George  Hill) 
was  more  deplorable  than  can  well  be  conceived;  famine 
was  periodical,  and  fever  its  attendant ;  wretchedness  per- 
vaded the  district".  Has  it  improved  ? 

PATRICK  MCKYE. 

Lord  George  tells  how — at  last,  that  very  extreme  of 
misery  excited  or  directed  the  philanthropy  of  one  in 

1  The  Donegal   Christmas  Annual,  edited  by  P.  T.  MacGinley,  Deny, 
1883. 

2  Facts  from  Gweedore,  by  Lord  George  Hill,  Dublin,  1846. 

3  Hints  to  Donegal  Tourists,  edited  by  Lord  George  Hill,  Dublin,  1847. 

31 


242  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

humble  life  (Patrick  McKye,  teacher  of  the  National  School) 
who  in  his  benevolent  efforts  to  depict  the  wants,  sufferings, 
and  privations  of  his  neighbours,  collected  his  materials  and 
embodied  them  in  a  memorial  to  the  Lord  Lieutenant  of 
Ireland  in  the  year  1837". 

It  is  reasonable  to  suppose  that  what  gave  Patrick 
McKye  the  hardihood  to  write  to  His  Excellency  was 
"that  the  schoolmaster  had  been  abroad".  He  tells  in  his 
memorial — "  he  had  perambulated  two  thousand  two 
hundred  and  fifty-three  miles  through  seven  of  the  United 
States  of  America",  consequently  even  the  dread  of  losing 
the  salary  of  eight  pounds  a  year  he  received  from  the  Board 
of  Education  did  not  dismay  him,  in  telling  to  the  head  of 
the  executive  government,  what  in  any  country  but  Ireland, 
would  have  been  known  and  remedied  by  the  department. 

Lord  George  Hill,  has  rendered  a  service  to  the  memory 
of  this  teacher  of  English  literature  in  Gweedore, 
who  was  receiving  from  the  British  Government,  in  the 
year  1837,  the  munificent  sum  of  eight  pounds  yearly  for  his 
services  towards  educating  a  parochial  population  of  above 
nine  thousand  souls ! 

Pacts  from  Gweedore  is  embellished  with  some  fairly 
drawn  chromo-lithographs,  entitled  The  Valley  of  the 
Claudy,  Old  Mill  on  the  Claudy,  Bunbeg  Harbour  and 
Store,  New  Mill  Bunbeg,  and  The  Gweedore  Hotel.  The 
enchanter's  wand  waved  by  Lord  George,  as  described  by 
himself,  following  an  Egyptian  precedent,  must  have  been 
turned  into  a  serpent,  yet  the  materials  to  work  upon  were 
not  originally  bad.  Let  his  Lordship  speak  of  them  himself.' 

1  Factt  from  Gwetdore,  p.  23-24. 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  243 

"  They  are  however,  a  quiet,  unoffensive  race  (these 
Irish  Celts)  when  not  interfered  with,  naturally  civil 
and  kind  in  their  manner,  and  they  can  be  brave  too,  where 
humanity  demands  of  them  to  be  so". 

"  An  instance  of  even  noble  heroism,  and  also  of  the 
greatest  self-denial  in  the  midst  of  terrible  privations,  which 
they  are  capable  of  has  been  left  on  record,  by  one  who 
having  lived  amongst  them  for  twenty  years  knew  them 
well,  and  loved  them  in  proportion  to  his  knowledge  of  their 
many  excellent  traits" — *  They  are  a  bright  and  intelligent 
people,  patiently  bearing  the  most  severe  privations, 
and  generous  even  to  a  fault'. 

The  writer  quoted  by  Lord  George  Hill  says — "In  the 
winter  of  1832-3,  in  the  bleak  month  of  February,  a 
schooner,  with  a  crew  of  four  men,  in  the  middle  of  the 
night,  and  during  a  tremendous  gale  from  the  N.W.  was 
dashed  against  the  rocks  of  Inis-Irrir,  and  very  soon  sunk — 
one  man  was  lost,  the  other  three  men  were  thrown  upon 
the  top  of  a  high  and  perpendicular  rock,  within  a  stone's 
throw  of  the  island — to  attempt  to  rescue  them,  through 
such  a  terrible  sea  as  was  breaking  between  the  rock  and  the 
island,  was  a  forlorn  hope,  indeed,  and  appeared  almost 
impossible. 

What  was  to  be  done  now? — To  the  honour  of  human 
nature  be  it  told,  that  six  of  thesepoor  islanders  manned  three 
corraghs,  (boats  made  of  wicker-work,  and  covered  with 
skins  of  animals)  two  in  each,  and,  watching  a  favourable 
interval  between  the  waves,  gallantly  shot  across  the  foam 
in  their  little  cots  and  gained  a  nook  in  the  rock. 

Here,  anew  difficulty  opposed  itself;  high  over  their  head 
prostrate  on  the  rock  benumbed  with  cold,  wet,  bruised, 


244  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

and  nearly  paralyzed,  lay  the  objects  of  their  solicitude— no 
other  way  of  gaining  access  to  the  corraghs  but  by  dropping 
into  them,  and  at  imminent  risk  of  staving  or  breaking  the 
frail  craft.  The  noble  fellows  paused  for  a  moment — such 
hearts  are  not  so  easily  daunted, — the  attempt  was  made 
providentially  without  an  accident  occurring ;  each  corragh 
received  its  guest,  and  the  gallant  fellows  succeeded,  as  if 
by^interposition  of  a  miracle,  in  landing  their  charge  in 
safety  [on  the  island".  Lord  George  omits  the  name  of  the 
writer. 

Such  is  the  picture  of  the  unlettered  peasantry  of  Gwee- 
dore,Fas  related  by  Lord  George  Hill ! 

Hints  to  Donegal  Tourists  contains  two  chrorno-litho- 
graphs — Anagary  Strand  and  Dunlewey  House — Lord 
George  begins  his  "Hints"  by  describing  the  Island  of 
Rathlin  or  Raghery — off  the  Antrim  coast ;  why  he  began 
his  tour  of  Donegal  in  Raghery  does  not  appear  clear.  One 
of  the  primitive  Turkish  baths  then  existing  on  that  island 
he  describes,1  the  Tigh  Allais  or  sweating-house  of  the 
Ancient  Irish,  which  were  considered  to  possess  highly 
curative  powers.  Strange  as  it  may  appear,  in  some  parts 
of  Germany  at  the  present  day — what  we  denominate 
"Turkish"  Baths,  are  called  "Irish"  by  the  Germans. 
Lord  George  Hill  begins  his  work  by  relating  the  story  of 
King  Bruce  resting  in  his  bed  in  the  castle  of  Ilahery2  in 
1806,  and  taking  a  lesson'from  the  perseverance  of  the  spider. 

Hints  to  Tourists  is  a  more  interesting  production  than 
Facts  from  Gweedore,  this  may  be  owing  to  considerable 
descriptions  of  scenery  borrowed  from  the  Rev.  Csesar 

1  Hints,  etc,  p.  6. 

2  Rahery  or  Rathlin  is  an  island  off  the  Coast  of  Antrim. 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  245 

Otway's  Tour  in  Donegal,  '  Sir  C.  Giesecke's,  Tour  in 
Donegal,1  is  also  properly  quoted  as  an  authority  when 
treating  of  the  mines  and  minerals  of  the  districts.  Bunbeg 
in  Gweedore  is  described  with  a  paternal  minuteness.  The 
general  scenery  about  this  romantic  place  may  be  described 
as  curiously  interesting.  Here  in  a  river  gorge  stands  the 
Church  of  Bunbeg,  the  scene  of  more  than  one  melancholy 
episode. 

ROSE   KAVANAGH. 

What  a  weird  attraction  and  charm  these  desolate  ravines 
of  Gweedore  and  Donegal  seem  to  possess  for  some  of  the 
best  of  our  writers  of  fiction  and  poetry.  Cahir's  Castle, 
has  been  produced  in  The  Irish  Fireside,  by  Miss  Rose 
Kavanagh ;  who  describes  with  much  power  the  position 
of  the  Church  of  Bunbeg.  "The  glen  in  which  the  chapel 
was  built  was  the  wildest  spot  about  the  neighbourhood, 
and  then  all  the  old  people  could  tell  such  stories  of  the 
way  they  prayed  in  the  penal  days.  The  building  was 
fixed  in  the  cleft  of  the  ravine,  and  the  spot  become 
hallowed  from  its  former  associations". 

The  Turn  of  the  Tide,3  by  the  same  writer,  is  an  exquisite 
poem  on  Donegal,  of  which  the  following  lines  afford  an 
example — 

"  Green  waves,  green  waves,  whose  thunder  woke 

Wild  music  'neath  the  steep  sea  wall, 
Till  every  fairy  echo  spoke 

From  Duain's  Cave  in  Donegal. 

1  Christian  Examiner,  1&25. 

3  Gie'secke's  Geological  Report,  R.  Dublin  Society,  1826. 

3  Boston  Pilot. 


246  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

We  leant  and  laughed  above  the  tide, 

What  wine  was  like  this  Irish  breeze, 
That  swept  the  spray  from  side  to  side, 

And  rocked  the  quaint  sea-stunted  trees".1 

The  Agrarian  struggle  in  Gweedore,  by  the  Rev.  James 
McFadden,  P.P.,  Bunbeg,  is  a  contribution  to  the  story  of 
the  land  struggle  in  the  Gweedore  district  of  Donegal.  It 
can  be  profitably  read  in  connection  with  Lord  George 
Hill's  Hints  from  Gweedore".3 

PETER  MCLOUGHLIN. 

Peter  McLoughlin  was  born  about  1811,  near  Castle- 
forward,  the  ancient  site  of  the  castle  of  Cuil-mic-an-Treoin, 
one  of  the  frontier  castles  of  Tir-enna  and  Inis-Owen. 

As  a  classical  teacher  Peter  McLoughlin  had  given 
evidence  of  considerable  ability.  He  contributed  an  able 
article  in  1833— illustrated  by  his  pencil— on  Burt  Castle* 
and  promised  a  future  contribution  on  Aileach  and  the 
Abbey  of  Kil-C? Donnell,  which  unfortunately  was  never 
published. 

O'Donovan  feelingly  refers  to  McLoughlin's  early  death, 
writing  from  Derry  he  says  "  poor  McLoughlin  who  wrote 
the  article  on  Burt  Castle  and  the  Greenan,  died  last  spring 
of  cholera,  as  did  also  his  brother  a  few  days  after  him. 

1  We  regret  the  early  death  of  this  gifted  authoress.    Miss  Kavanagh 
was  born  at  Killadro j,  Co.  Tyrone,  educated  at  the  Convent  in  Oma  gh,  and 
died  at  Mullaghmore  on  the  Blackwater,  Co.  Tyrone,  28th  February,  1891. 

2  Derry,  1889. 

3  Dublin  Penny  Journal,  vol.  ii.  pp.  92-93. 


VARIOUS   WRITERS.  247 

They  were  both  classical  teachers,  and  the  elder  not  twenty- 
three  years  old".1 

REV.  JOHN  BOYCE,  D.D. 

John  Boyce,  D.D.,  was  born  in  the  town  of  Donegal  in  the 
year  1810.  The  active  mind  of  the  future  man  was  early  dis- 
played in  the  boy.  To  excel  in  all  manly  and  attractive 
pastimes,  in  combination  with  the  requirements  of  rudi- 
mentary education,  constitutes  much  of  what  tends  towards 
training  the  physical  body  and  goes  to  expand  the  mind. 

John  Boyce  appears  to  have  excelled  in  all  these  qualities, 
and  to  have  developed  an  early  aptitude  for  literature. 

At  the  age  of  seventeen  appeared  from  his  pen  a 
lampoon  against  some  obnoxious  official,  wherein  he 
exposed  a  grievance  and  brought  about  redress.  Having 
completed  his  preparatory  classics,  and  selected  his  career, 
he  began  his  ecclesiastical  course  in  the  seminary  at  Navan, 
out  of  which  he  entered  Maynooth ;  and  where  he  was 
ordained  for  the  priesthood  in  1837.  He  entered  on  his 
duties  as  a  priest  in  his  native  diocese  of  Raphoe,  where 
he  remained  till  1845,  when  he  emigrated  with  many 
members  of  his  flock  to  America. 

In  1846,  he  was  appointed  to  a  pastoral  charge  in 
Worcester,  Massachusetts,  where  he  continued  to  reside  till 
his  death. 

Father  Boyce  published,  in  1848,  Shandy  Maguire,  or 
Tricks  upon  Travellers,  under  the  nom  de  plume  of  Paul 
Peppergrass,  Esq.,  which  first  appeared  in  a  Boston 
periodical,  and  attracted  at  once  the  attention  of  Bishop 

1  Ordinance  Survey  Letters,  September  27th,  1835. 


248  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Fenwick  of  Boston.  Dr.  Brownson  in  hia  Quarterly  Review 
pronounced  upon  the  book  the  highest  eulogium,  and 
assigned  to  the  writer  a  place  equal  if  not  superior  to  any 
writers  of  Irish  romance.  Shandy  Maguire,  was  recognized 
by  the  London  Press,  and  the  Dublin  Review,  as  a  work  of 
great  merit.  It  has  been  successfully  dramatized,  translated 
into  German,  and  produced  successfully  before  audiences 
of  English  and  American  friends. 

His  published  lectures,  The  Influence  of  Catholicity  on 
the  Arts  and  Sciences,  Mary  Queen  of  Scots,  Queen  Elizabeth, 
Sir  Thomas  More,  Charles  Dickens,  and  Henry  Grattan; 
are  spoken  of  as  admirable  specimens  of  composition ;  whilst 
his  love  of  country  as  expressed  in  the  Irish  Exile,  was  the 
one  theme  upon  which  he  seems  to  have  concentrated  his 
greatest  energy. 

The  Spae  Wife,  or,  the  Queen's  Secret,&n  historical  romance 
of  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  begins  at  Hampton  Court, 
one  of  the  few  places  about  London,  that  possesses  varied 
historic  interest,  as  it  has  for  others,  personal  remembrances. 
The  facility  with  which  Father  Boyce  makes  Nell  Gower, 
the  Scotch  spae  wife,  discourse  in  broad  Scottish 
dialect,  in  contrast  with  the  stately  and  imperious  language 
of  Elizabeth,  displays  an  unusual  power  of  transition. 
Admirers  of  Elizabeth's  character  for  spotless  innocence, 
would  not  recognize  in  her  picture  as  drawn  by  Father 
Boyce  any  striking  likeness.  No  finer  character  could  be 
depicted  than  Alice  Wentworth,  daughter  of  Sir  Geoffry 
Wentworth — the  representative  of  an  old  English  Catholic 
Baronetage,  who  suffered  persecution  under  Elizabeth. 
Whilst  Roger  O'Brien  attached  to  the  court  of  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots,  affords  Father  Boyce  an  opportunity  of  present- 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  249 

ing  the  high  spirited  and  brave  qualities  that  ought  to  be- 
long to  an  Irish  gentleman. 

Father  Boyce  evidently  intended  to  have  completed  the 
historic  parallel  by  another  volume  dealing  with  Mary  Queen 
of  Scots,  but  whether  the  MS.  of  the  latter  were  among  the 
many  committed  to  the  flames  a  few  days  before  his  death, 
by  his  own  directions,  does  not  appear. 

Mary  Lee,  or,  The  Yankee  in  Ireland,  the  last  story 
written  by  Dr.  Boyce,  displays  an  intimate  knowledge  of 
Irish  character,  and  gives  a  trenchant  description  of  the 
lovable,  discriminating,  matter  of  fact  American. 

An  excellent  biographical  sketch  of  Dr.  Boyce,  written  by 
one  who  was  evidently  an  intimate  friend,  appears  prefixed 
to  a  revised  edition  of  the  Spae  Wife.1  He  died  at  Worcester, 
2nd  January,  1864. 

Jerome  Boyce,  of  Donegal,  his  nephew,  inherits  much  of 
the  literary  ability  of  his  uncle  ;  he  is  the  author  of  several 
sparkling  verses.  One  of  these  pieces  addressed  to  the  old 
ruins  of  Donegal  Castle  is  sung  by  the  people  in  and  around 
Donegal  town  frequently. 

REV.  JAMES  C.    CANNON. 

The  Rev.  James  C.  Cannon  belongs  to  a  branch  of  an 
ancient  family  in  Donegal. 

The  O'Cannanon  were  in  existence  as  a  distinct  tribe  or 
clan  inTyrconnell  previous  to  the  O'Donnells.  Letterkenny 
derives  its  name  from  the  O'Cannons,  that  is,  the  sloping 
hillside  of  the  O'Cannons. 

1  Published  by  Thomas  B.  Noonan  and  Co.,  Boston, 

32 


250  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

James  C.  Cannon  was  born  at  Mountcharles,  and  is  a 
graceful  writer,  he  has  contributed  articles  to  the  Irish  Eccl. 
Record,  The  Uoston  Pilot,  Donohoes  Magazine,  and  the 
London  Lamp.  The  Convent  of  Donegal,  and  the  Castle 
of  the  O'Donnells  has  been  the  title  given  to  some  of  the 
articles  To  the  contemplative  mind  of  many  a  beholder» 
the  grey  old  ruins  tell  of  the  life  and  energy  that  once 
moved  within  and  around  the  place  where  now  only  exist 
crumbling  walls.  Some  of  Fr.  Cannon's  contributions  have 
been  copied  from  the  Boston  Pilot  into  several  journals. 

P.  O'C.  MACLAUGHLIN. 

Patrick  O'Conor  MacLaughlin,  born  2nd  September, 
1851,  in  the  City  of  Derry,  is  deserving  a  place  among  a 
list  of  Inis-Owen  writers. 

Bearing  the  historic  name  of  the  ancient  princes  of  Aileach, 
he  belongs  to  a  talented  family,  one  of  which  has  carved, 
unaided,  his  way  to  fame  as  an  eminent  member  of  the  Irish 
Bar,  and  who  possesses  much  of  the  genuine  humour  of  the 
Celtic  race.  We  are  not  in  possession  of  a  list  of  the  writ- 
ings of  the  gentleman  referred  to,  but  that  his  contributions 
to  literature  have  been  many  and  varied,  we  have  no  doubt. 
P.  O'C  MacLaughlin  was  educated  at  the  Catholic  seminary 
of  the  "  Brow  of  the  Hill",  now  the  Diocesan  College  of  St. 
Columba  in  Deny. 

At  the  age  of  sixteen,  his  first  poem  on  the  Manchester 
Martyrs  appeared  in  the  Dublin  Weekly  News.  P.  0  C. 
"MacLaughlin  has  since  contributed  many  poems,  chiefly 
to  the  columns  of  the  Irish  National  Press,  both  in  Ire- 
land and  America.  Several  of  these  have  been  translated 


IN  SONG  AND   STORY.  251 

into  French,  and  appeared  in  the  Courier  dn  Soir  in  Paris. 
He  is  a  humorist  writer  of  considerable  ability,  author  of 
The  Threatening  Letter  writer,  and  Irish  /joyctlist'is  Com- 
panion, a  satiro  on  the  political  party  in  Ireland  known  as  the 
"  Loyal  minority".  He  has  furnished  a  collection  of  humorous 
reviews  entitled  Retrospective  fieviews.  As  a  delineator  of 
Irish  peasant  life,  through  many  serial  publications,  his 
stories  exhibit  many  traits  of  natural  genius.  A  notable 
feature  of  his  writings  are  his  poems  written  on  such 
religious  subjects  as  Tlie  Blessed  Sacrament,  etc.  His 
description  of  himself,  from  his  own  pen,  is  given  as  we 
received  it  — "Even  by  a  photograph,  which  he  never  was 
vain  enough  to  procure,  it  would  be  impossible  to  depict 
the  manly  beauties  of  P.  O'C.  MacLaughlin  and  his 
muscular  Christianity,  speaks  Donegal-Irish,  Inis-Owen- 
French,  and  a  large  quantity  of  Latin.  Caesar's  easy 
Latin  preferred". 

With  "  Leo",  Denis  Holland,  and  others,  he  assisted 
as  he  says  ''the  late  Richard  Pigott  in  Fenian  Journalism^ 
long  ago,  before  Dick  exhibited  all  his  virtues". 


XXIII. 
DONEGAL. 

IN    SONG    AND    STORY. 

Inis-Owen  and  Tirconnell  has  been  the  theme  for  many 
writers,  who  were  not  born  within  their  bounds,  but  who 
have  made  one  or  both,  the  subject  of  their  song  or  story. 


252  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

SIR  CHARLES  GAVAN   DUFFY, 

was  born  in  the  County  Monaghan  in  1816.  Gavan  Duffy 
has  rendered  to  Donegal  the  tribute  of  his  genius  by  his 
imperishable  song  of — 

INNISHOWEN.1 

God  bless  the  grey  mountains  of  dark  Donegal, 
God  bless  Royal  Aileach,*  the  pride  of  them  all ; 
For  she  sits  evermore  like  a  queen  on  her  throne, 
And  smiles  on  the  valleys  of  green  Innishowen, 

And  fair  are  the  valleys  of  green  Innishowen, 

And  hardy  the  fishers,  that  can  call  them  their  own. 

A  race  that  nor  traitor  nor  coward  have  known 

Enjoy  the  valleys  of  green  Innishowen. 

1  Ballads  of  Ireland,  by  Edward  Hayes,  (5th  edition,  vol.  1,  p.  33.) 
1  [Inis-Owen  (pronounced  Innishone)  is  a  mild  and  picturesque 
[barony]  district  in  the  County  Donegal,  inhabited  chiefly  by  the  descen- 
dants of  the  Irish  clans,  permitted  to  remain  [in  the  most  mountainous 
parts]  in  Ulster,  after  the  plantation  of  James  I.  The  native  language 
and  the  songs  and  legends  of  tlie  country  are  as  universal  as  the  people. 
One  of  the  most  familiar  of  these  legends  is  that  a  troop  of  Murtagh 
MacNdll's  horse  lies  in  magic  sleep  in  a  cave  under  the  hill  of  the 
Grianan  of  Aileach,  where  the  northern  kings  formerly  resided.  These 
bold  troopers  only  wait  to  have  the  spell  removed  to  rush  to  the  aid  of 
their  country,  and  a  man  (says  the  legend)  who  wandered  accidentally 
into  the  cave,  found  them  lying  beside  their  horses,  fully  armed,  and 
holding  the  bridles  in  their  hands.  One  yf  them  lifted  his  head,  and 
asked  "Is the  time  come?"  and  when  he  received  no  answer —for  the 
intruder  was  two  much  frightened  to  reply — dropped  back  into  his 
lethargy,  some  of  the  old-folk  consider  this  story  an  allegory,  and  interpret 
it  as  they  desire"].— //ay  f-s'  note. 


IN  SONG  AND   STORY.  253 

Oh !  simple  and  bold  are  the  bosoms  they  bear, 
Like  the  hills  that  with  silence  and  nature  they  share, 
For  our  God,  who  hath  planted  our  home  near  his  own, 
Breathed  His  spirit  abroad  upon  fair  Innishowen, 
Then  praise  to  our  Father  for  wild  Innishowen, 
Where  fiercely  for  ever  the  surges  are  thrown — 
Nor  weather  nor  fortune  a  tempest  hath  blown 
Could  shake  the  strong  bosoms  of  brave  Innishowen. 


See  the  beautiful  Couldah1  careering  along — 

A  type  of  their  manhood  so  stately  and  strong — 

On  the  weary  for  ever  its  tide  is  bestown, 

So  they  share  with  the  stranger  in  fair  Innishowen. 

God  guard  the  kind  homesteads  of  fair  Innishowen 
Which  manhood  and  virtue  have  chosen  for  their  own ; 
Not  long  shall  the  nation  in  slavery  groan, 
That  rears  the  tall  peasants  of  fair  Innishowen. 


Like  that  oak  of  St.  Bride  which  nor  Devil  nor  Dane, 
Nor  Saxon  nor  Dutchman  could  rend  from  her  fane, 
They  have  clung  by  the  creed  and  the  cause  of  their  own 
Through  the  midnight  of  danger  in  true  Innishowen. 
Then  shout  for  the  glories  of  old  Innishowen. 
The  stronghold  that  foemen  have  never  o'erthrown — 
The  soul  and  the  spirit,  the  blood  and  the  bone, 
That  guard  the  green  valleys  of  true  Innishowen. 

1  The  Couldagh,  or  Culdaff  river  takes  its  rise  in  the  mountains  east  of 
Grouse  Hall,  on  the  road  from  Moville  to  Carndonagh,  and  empties  its 
waters  into  Culdaff  Bay. 


254  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Nor  power  of  old  was  the  tongue  of  the  Gael, 
When  the  charging  aboo  made  the  foreigner  quail, 
Than  it  gladdens  the  stranger  in  welcome's  soft  tone, 
In  the  home-loving  cabins  of  kind  Innishowen. 

Oh  !  flourish  ye  homesteads  of  kind  Innishowen, 
Where  seeds  of  a  people's  redemption  are  sown ; 
Eight  soon  shall  the  fruit  of  that  sowing  have  grown, 
To  bless  the  kind  homesteads  of  green  Innishowen. 

When  they  tell  us  a  tale  of  a  spell-stricken  band 

All  entranced,  with  their  bridles  and  broad  swords  in  hand, 

Who  await  but  the  word  to  give  Erin  her  own, 

They  can  read  you  that  riddle  in  proud  Innishowen. 

Hurra  for  the  spaemen1  of  proud  Innishowen  ! 

Long  live  the  wild  Seers  of  stout  Innishowen ! 

May  Mary  our  mother,  be  deaf  to  our  moan 

Who  love  not  the  the  promise  of  proud  Innishowen. 

DENIS   HOLLAND, 

editor  and  proprietor  of  the  Ulsterman,  published  in  book 
form  his  letters  entitled  The  Landlord  in  Donegal?  where 
the  whole  question  that  has  so  often  agitated  the  public 
mind  as  to  the  existing  relationship  between  landlord  and 
tenant  is  ably  discussed.  Referring  to  Lord  George  Hill, 
the  late  Mr.  Holland  says — "  Lord  George  Hill  did  what 
Job  wished  his  enemy  to  do — he  wrote  a  book — Lord 
George  called  his  book  Facts  from  Gweedore ;  very  like 

1  Spceman,  an  Ulster  and  Scotch  term  signifying  a  person  gifted  with 
"  second  sight", — a  prophet. 
•  (Belfast,  1856) 


IN   SONG  AND  STORY.  255 

that  gentleman  of  whom  Sheridan  said  that  he  drew  on  his 
imagination  for  his  facts"1 

LADY   MORGAN    (SIDNEY   OWENSON.) 

Authoress  of  TJie  Wild  Irish  Girl,  selected  for  the  title  of 
one  of  her  romances  descriptive  of  the  penal  days,  the  name 
of  Tirconnell's  chieftain — O1  Donndl, 

REV.   CHARLES   P.    MEEHAN, 

has  made  the  name  of  Inis-Owen  and  Tivconnell  as 
familiar  as  household  word,  by  means  of  his  Flight  of  the 
Earls,  and  Irish  Franciscans. 

JOHN   MITCHEL, 

in  his  Life  and  Times  of  Hugh  O'Neill^  describes  many 
warlike  incidents  in  the  history  of  Donegal  from  1535  to 
1608,  in  language  as  forcible  as  it  is  exact. 

THOMAS   MACNEVIN 

relates  the  story  of  the  Ulster  Plantation,5  under  the  reign 
of  James  I,  and  how  it  fared  with  Inis-Owen  and  Tirconnell. 
An  anonymous  writer  (J/.  of  K.}  writes  the  Battle  of 
Lough  Stcilly,*  which  occurred  the  year  following  the  battle 
of  Credran.  It  was  at  this  battle  of  Lough  S  willy,  Geoffrey 

1  The  Landlord  in  Donegal,  p.  59. 

*  Aodk   O'Neill,  by  John  Mitchell,  (Dublin,   1845.) 

3   Tkk  Confiscation  in  ULter,  by  Thomas  MacNevin,  (Dublin,  1846.) 

«  Ballads  of  Ireland,  by  Edward  Walsh,  vol.  1,  pp.  100—105. 


256  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

O'Donnell,  Lord  of  Tirconnell,  who  had  been  wounded  at 
Credran,  and  who  had  retired  to  Lough  Veagh,  ordered 
that  he  might  be  carried  through  the  battle  in  the  midst  of 
his  troops.1 

"  No  answer   back  those  Warriors  gave,  but  sternly   on 

they  swept, 
And  in  their  centre,  curtained  black,  a  litter  close  is 

kept, 

And  all  their  host  it  guided  fair  as  did  in  Galilee 
Proud  Judah's  tribes  the  Ark  of  God,  when  crossing  the 

Red  Sea". 

It  is  believed  that  the  poem  from  which  these  linas  are 
extracted  (M.  of  K.)  is  by  the  author  of  the  Monks  ofKilcrea. 

MARGARET   T.  DOHERTY 

i 

(Mrs.  M.  T.  Fender,  of  Glengormley,  near  Belfast), 
though  not  born  in  Inis-Owen,  belongs  to  it  by  virtue  of 
descent,  name,  feelings,  and  aspirations.  She  has  made 
Inis-Owen  and  Tirconnell  the  scene  of  two  of  her  recent 
historical  romances.2  The  principal  historical  event  of 
the  sixteenth  century  relating  to  Donegal  are  inter- 
woven in  prose  and  verse,  containing  incidents  of  romance, 
that  are  of  an  elevating  character.  We  quote  Mrs.  Fender's 
opening  lines  descriptive  of  the  death  of  The  Last  of  tht 
Irish  Chiefs,  Cahir  ODoherty,  who  fell  in  battle  with  the 

1  Annals  Four  Masters,  A.D.,  1258. 

2  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell,  and  The  Last  of  the  Irish  Chiejs,  by  Mrs.  M.  T. 
Fender,  Shamrock  1886  and  8. 


O'DONNELLS.  '257 

troops  of  the  Pale,  at  Doon  Rock  near  Kilmacrenan,  in 
J608.— 

"  Weep,  Innishowen,  for  thy  chieftain  laid  lowly, 
But  not  with  his  fathers  in  Fahan  the  holy, 
He  died  on  the  field  with  his  proud  banner  o'er  him, 
The  foe  that  he  scorned,  but  feared  not,  before  him. 

To  night  o'er  his  corse  no  censer  is  swinging, 
No  sad  hymn  is  pealing,  no  death  bell  is  ringing ; 

.  *  •  •  •  *  • 

Nor  warriors  to  tell  of  his  deeds  and  his  daring, 
Nor  dolorous  mother,  nor  widow  despairing."1 


XXIV. 
THE  O'DONNELLS  IN  LITERATURE. 

The  O'Donnells  of  Tirconnell,  and  their  descendants 
during  many  centuries,  have  graven  their  name  on  the 
page  of  history,  wherever  the  cause  of  Ireland  was  to 
be  upheld  by  valour,  there  are  to  be  found  the  names  of  the 
Cinell-Connell.  Nor  has  the  name  been  absent  from  the 
gentle  paths  of  peace  and  literature.  For  one  who  claims 
a  share  in  the  glory  and  the  sorrow  attached  to  the  name 
and  race,  it  becomes  a  duty  to  give  a  record  of  writers  who 
have  written  under  or  concerning  this  name.  We  will 

1  Shamrock,  vol.  xxv.,  p.  765. 

33 


258  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

leave  to  others  the  task  of  assigning  to  each  author  the 
place  of  his  birth  and  the  particulars  of  his  career. 

MANUS  O'DONNELL, 

Chieftain  and  historian,  wrote  at  the  Castle  of  Lifford  in 
the  year  1532,  his  celebrated  Life  of  Saint  Columkille. 
The  original  manuscript  was  discovered  in  the  Bodleian 
Library,  Oxford,  by  Eugene  O'Ciirry,  in  July,  1849.'  This 
work  is  so  important,  and  has  been  so  frequently  quoted  by 
Colgan  and  others,  that  any  further  reference  to  it  here  is 
unnecessary. 

About  this  time,  1532,  flourished  in  Tirconnell  a  poet 
also  named  Manus  O'Donnell,  copies  of  five  short  poems 
of  his  composition  are  among  the  Irish  MSS.  in  the  Irish 
Academy.2 

BONA VENTURE   O'DONNELL. 

Brother  Bonaventure  O'Donnell,  Jubilate  Lector,  is  one 
of  the  signatories  to  the  "  Testimonium"  in  1636,  attached 
to  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters.  It  was  not  until  1843 
that  Eugene  O'Curry  was  able  to  decipher  this  signature 
correctly,  all  others,  including  Petrie,  having  rendered  it 
"  O'Donnell  Prince  of  Donegal".3 

AODH  (HUGH)  O'DONNELL, 

one  of  the  poets  of  Tirconnell,  who  took  part  in  the  Con- 
tention of  the  Bards,  wrote  about  the  year  1607 ;  his  poems 

1  Proceedings  R.I.A.,  vol.  5,  p.  162, 

2  O'Rtilly's  Irish  Writers,  p.  cxxxv. 

*  MSS.  Materials  of  Irish  History,  p.  149.  (Dublin  1861). 


O'DONNELLS.  259 

on  this  occasion  are  to  be  found  in  the  lomarbadh,  or  Con- 
tention. O'Donnell  wrote  a  poem  of  four  hundred  and 
thirty-six  verses,  against  the  attacks  of  Teige  M'Daire,  our 
author  is  addressed  in  one  of  the  replies  as  u  Oh !  young 
Hugh  of  swift  steeds".1 

DOCTOR  WILLIAM  O'DONNELL   (OR  DANIEL), 

one  of  the  first  fellows  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin,  died  llth 
July,  1628,  he  was  treasurer  of  the  Cathedral  of  Saint 
Patrick  in  Dublin,  from  which  he  was  raised  to  be  Protestant 
Archbishop  of  Tuam  in  the  year  1609.  He  is  said  to  have 
been  the  translator  into  Irish  of  the  Book  of  Common  Prayer, 
and  of  the  New  Testament;  some  have  denied  that  O'DonneU 
was  the  translator  of  the  latter,  ascribing  it  to  one  Mortogh 
O'Cionga,  (or  King).2  However  an  edition'  published 
by  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  1$28  bears 
O'Donnell's  name. 

ROISIN  DUBH. 

With  the  flight  of  O'Neill  and  O'Donnell  in  1607,  the 
name  of  the  O'Donnells  in  Irish  literature  became  sadly 
silent.  Till  the  reign  of  Elizabeth  this  name  was  the 
inspiring  source  for  many  a  bardic  song,  JRoisin  Dubh 
(Little  Black  Kose),  an  allegorical  ballad,  though  long  since 
forgotten  as  a  political  song,  was  composed  during 
Elizabeth's  reign  to  celebrate  the  he.ro  of  Tirconnell,  Hugh 

1   O'Reilly's  Irish  Writers,  p.  ckvii,  (Dublin,  1820). 
8  O'Reilly's  Writers,  p.;clxxx. 


260  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIECONNELL. 

Ruadh  O'Donnell.     Ireland  is  there  addressed  under  the 
name  of  the  "Little  Black  Rose". 

A  translation  from  the  original  Irish  was  made  by 
Thomas  Furlong,  the  Wexford  poet.  Here  is  the  first 
stanza.— 

4 '  Oh  !  my  sweet  little  rose,  cease  to  pine  for  the  past, 
For  the  friends  that  come  eastward   shall  see  thee  at 

last, 
They  bring  blessings — they  bring  favours  which  the  past 

never  knew, 
To  pour  forth  in  gladness  on  my  Roisin  Dubh". 

THE    ROMAN   VISION. 

The  original  and  translation  have  been  published.1  The 
Roman  Vision,  once  the  most  popular  of  modern  Irish 
historical  poems,  was  written  yi  1650.  The  author  supposes 
himself  "  on '  Cephas'  golden  hill",  where  the  vision  appears 
as  he  looks  over  the  graves  of  Rory  O'Donnell  of  Tir- 
connell,  and  Hugh  O'Neill  of  Tyrone.  The  name  of  the 
author  of  the  poem  is  unknown.  The  Irish  verse  has  been 
published  with  a  spirited  translation  in  English  by  Henry 
Grattan  Curran.2 

Owen  Roe  Mac  an  Bhaird  (or  Ward),  the  bard  who 
accompanied  O'Donnell  into  exile,  was  author  of  the 
celebrated  dirge  or  lament  for  the  Tironian  and  Tirconnellian 
princes  that  begins  with  "  0  Woman  of  the  Piercing  Wail". 
The  poem  is  addressed  to  Nuala  O'Donnell,  sister  of  the 

1     Sardinian's  Irish  Minstrelsy,  rol.  1  Jp,  254.  (Dublin,  1831). 
-   Ibid,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  306-389. 


O'DONNELLS.  261 

Prince  of  Tirconnell,  who  was  also  one  of  the  fugitives. 
James  Clarence  Mangan  has  given  a  beautiful  translation 
of  this  much  admired  poem.  We  give  the  first  two  verses 
of  the  sixteen  of  which  the  poem  consists  : — 

"  0  Woman  of  the  Piercing  Wail, 

Who  mournest  o'er  yon  mound  of  clay 

With  sigh  and  groan, 
Would  God  thou  wert  among  the  Gael ! 
Thou  wouldst  not  then  from  day  to  day 

Weep  thus  alone : 

'T  were  long  before  around  a  grave 
In  green  Tirconnell  one  could  find 

This  loneliness ; 

Near  where  Bean-Boirche's  banners  wave, 
Such  grief  as  thine  could  ne'er  have  pined 
Companionless. 

Beside  the  wave,  in  Donegall, 

In  Antrim's  glens,  or  fair  Dromore, 

Or  Killilee, 

Or  where  the  sunny  waters  fall, 
At  Assaroe,  near  Erna's  shore, 

This  could  not  be. 

On  Derry's  plains — in  rich  Drumclieff — 
Throughout  Armagh  the  Great,  renowned 

In  olden  years, 

No  day  could  pass  but  woman's  grief 
Would  rain  upon  the  burial-ground 
Fresh  floods  of  tears  !  ':i 

1  The  Ballad  Poetry  of  Ireland,  edited  by  C.  G.  Duffy,  3rd  edition,  pp. 
102-109  (Dublin,  1845) 


262  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

EDWARD   WALSH. 

Tlie  Battle  of  Credran,  fought  by  Geoffrey  O'Donnell, 
Prince  of  Tirconnell  in  1257,  against  the  English,  is  told 
in  verse  by  Edward  Walsh,  editor  of  the  Jacobite  Relics  of 
Ireland,  who  was  born  in  Derry  City  in  1805,  and  died 
in  Cork,  6th  August,  1850.  Walsh  is  thus  spoken  of  by 
Hayes,  "  as  a  poet  there  were  none  more  Irish,  with  a 
singular  beauty  and  fascinating  melody  in  his  verse.  His 
contributions  to  Irish  literature  have  both  been  considerable 
and  creditable,  whilst  his  translations  from  the  Irish  preserve 
all  the  peculiarities  of  the  old  tongue,  his  ballads  being  the 
most  literal  and  characteristic  we  possess".1  The  historical 
incidents  of  this  battle  are  mentioned  by  the  Four  Masters,* 
This  is  Walsh's  opening  stanza. 

"  From  the  glens  of  his  fathers  O'Donnell  comes  forth, 
With  all  Cinell-Conaill,  fierce  septs  of  the  North — 
O'Boyle  and  O'Daly,  O'Dugan  and  they 
That  own  by  the  wild  waves  O'Doherty's  sway".3 

"  O'Donnell  and  the  fair  Fitzgerald",  by  Charles  Gavan 
Duffy,  is  a  rendering  in  verse  of  the  addresses  of  an 
O'Donnell  to  the  daughter  of  an  Anglo-Norman  Geraldine, 
whose  sympathy  had  disarmed  his  racial  antipathy.4 

1  Ballads  of  Ireland,  vol.  1,  p.  352.  Mr.  Hayes  was  assisted  in  the 
completion  of  this  work  by  Mr.  William  Kenealy,  who  had  been  professor 
in  St.  Columb's  Seminary  under  Dr.  Maginn  and  Dr.  Kelly.  He  was  after- 
wards editor  of  the  Kilkenny  Journal. 

*  O'Dono van's  Four  Masters,  p.  361  (Dublin,  1848.) 

3  IrithEallads, edited  by  D.  F.  McCarthy,  pp.  116-119, (Dublin,  1846). 

4  Ibid,  p.  186. 


O'DONNELLS.  263 

AUBREY  DE  VERB. 

The  Battle  of  Lough  Swilly,  fought  in  1258,  has  been 
sung  by  Aubrey  de  Vere.  O'Donnell  was  suffering  from  the 
wounds  he  had  received  in  his  encounter  with  the  English 
leader  Maurice  Fitzgerald,  who  fell  mortally  wounded  at 
the  battle  of  Credran.  Having  prevailed  upon  his  Tircon- 
nellians  to  place  him  in  his  coffin,  he  was  carried  in  their 
midst  into  the  battle ;  after  the  victory,  the  day  following, 
he  breathed  his  last  on  the  field  where  the  battle  was 
fought. 

The  valour  displayed  on  the  side  of  Tirone — who  claimed 
tribute  from  Tirconnell — was  met  with  equal  bravery 
by  the  O'Donnells.  Though  history  recognizes  the  grandeur 
of  a  dying  chieftain  carried  in  his  coffin  into  the  field  of 
battle  with  all  solemnity  surrounding  a  departing  leader,  it 
cannot  but  be  lamented,  that  the  absence  of  unity  caused 
two  princes  of  the  same  race  to  engage  in  mortal  strife. 
And  this  at  a  time  when  their  common  foe  was  awaiting  an 
opportunity  to  strike  at  either. 

After  describing  the  chief  incidents  of  the  battle,  Aubrey 
de  Vere  depicts  how —  , 

"  Proud  and  high  Tirconnell  shouts,  but  bending  on  the 

gale, 

Upon  the  ear  ascendeth  now  a  sad  and  sullen  wail, 
For  on  that  field  as  back    they  bore,  from  chasing  of 

the  foe, 
The  spirit  of  O'Donnell  fled  !  Oh,  woe  for  Ulster,  woe"!1 

1  The  Ballads  of  Ireland,  by  Echvard  Hayes,  vol.  1,  pp.  100-106. 


264  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

MODERN  AUTHORS. 

John  O'DonneU,  author  of  a  report  of  the  proceedings  in 
the  case  of  Pollock  v.  Harding,  respecting  the  right  of 
appointment  to  the  office  of  clerk  of  the  peace  in  the  King's 
County,  1820. 

Hugh  Joseph  O'Donnell,  author  of  "  The  Touchstone  of  the 
Bible  Societies,  or  the  unanswerable  arguments  of  a  Roman 
Catholic  Layman  to  a  ^Protestant  Clergyman  against  a 
pamphlet  entitled  "  Opinions  of  Saint  Patrick,  Saint 
Columbkille,  and  other  ancient  saints  of  Ireland,  respecting 
the  reading  of  the  Scriptures  by  the  people". 

Matthew  C?  Donnell  (and  Francis  Brady)  author  of  "an 
analytical  digest  of  all  the  reported  cases,  statutes  and 
general  orders  in  or  relating  to  the  principles  of  pleading  and 
practice  of  equity  in  Ireland  and  the  House  of  Lords",1 
by  the  same  authors  were  published  "  a  treatise  on  the  law 
of  all  actions  and  suits  within  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Civil 
Bill  Court  and  the  principles,  pleadings,  and  evidence 
relating  thereto."* 

Matthew  O'Donnell,  author  of  a  commentary  upon  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  court  of  the  Assistant  Barrister  as 
extended  under  the  act  of  14,  Viet.  c.  57,  and  the  evidence 
in  actions  taken  therein.3 

Rev.  E.  CfDonnell,  contributed  translation  of  the  Divina 
Commedia  (Dante  Alighieri)4  he  translated  from  the  French 
Tlie  Genius  of  Christianity6  of  Viscount  F.R.  de  Chateau- 

»  (Dublin,  1840). 

2  (Dublin,  1844). 

3  2nd  Edition  (Dublin,  1852). 
«  (1852). 

*  (1865). 


O'DONNELLS.  265 

briand.  Also  a  compendium  of  the  theology  of  Saint 
Thomas  Aquinas,  translated  into  English.1  Author  of  Ser- 
mons on  the  Gospels  for  all  Sundays  and  principal 
festivals  of  the  year.2 

Lady  Mary  Stuart  O'Donnell,  daughter  of  Roderick 
O'Donnell,  Prince  of  Tirconnell,  her  life  et  resolution 
courageuse  par  A.  Henri  quer. 

Roderick  O'Donnell,  Prince  of  Tirconnell,  The  Fate  and 
Fortunes,  by  Eev.  Charles  P.  Meehan,  Dublin. 

General  Enrique  O'Donnell,  Democracia  Espafiola 
Contestacion  al  follets  de  D.  E.  OT).  (N.  Fernandez  Ceusta) 
General  O'Donnell,  has  contributed  a  volume  of  family 
history,  or,  Memoirs  of  the  O'Donnell  family.  Several 
descendants  of  the  Cinel-Connail  have  been  received  into 
civil  and  military  posts  in  Spain.  Many  of  the  O'Donnells 
born  on  the  Continent  obtained  high  distinction, particularly 
in  the  Spanish  and  Austrian  services.  The  memoirs  of  th 
family,  written  in  the  Spanish  language  by  General 
O'Donnell,  are  entitled  Apuntes  Historicos  sobre  la  familia 
de  O'Donnell.*  The  same  author  has  written  Un  Viage  al 
Rededor  re  la  Camera  Real  en  la  Granja.b 

The  Duke  of  Tetuan,  Leopoldo  O'Donnell,  has  contributed 
fourteen  political  portraits  edited  by  H.  Castille ;  an  im- 
portant speech  on  Spain  and  Mexico,  delivered  by  the 
Duke  de  Tetuan  before  the  Spanish  Senate  has  been 
translated  into  English.6 

History  of  the  Duke  de  Tetuan — Historia  Apuntes,  etc., 
by  M.  Ibo  Alfaro,  has  been  published. 

The   O'Donnell    ministry    entitled,    E.    L.    Ministerio 

1  (1859).  •  2  vols.  (Dublin,  1863).  3  (Madrid,  1858).  «  (Madrid,  1868.) 
•  (Madrid,  1860).  6  By  A.  Kinloch  (Torquay,  1863). 

34 


266  INIS-OWEN  AND   T1RCONNELL. 

0 'Donnell,  ante  la  represantacion  national  des  1861,  has 
been  published  by  a  Spaniard,  who  was  neither  a  moderate 
or  a  progressist.1 

Lucy  O*  Donnell,  authoress  of  Saint  Patrick's  Cathedral, 
a  tale  of  the  sixteenth  century.2 

Stephen  O'Donnell,  author  of  The  Jesuits'  Missions 
of  Paraguay,  a  lecture  descriptive  of  the  only  organized 
system  of  Communism  yet  tried,  that  at  one  period  of  its . 
existence  promised  to  be  successful.3 

Frank  0' Donnell,  a  tale  of  Irish  Life,  edited  by  A.  H.  C.4 

Francis  Hugh  O1  Donnell,  author  of  Public  Education, 
its  necessity,  and  the  ideas  involved  in  it — an  essay  on  the 
principles  of  National  Instruction,  with  some  of  their  appli- 
cations to  Irish  University  systems,5  by  the  same  author. 
Mixed  Education  in  Ireland.  The  Confessions  of  a  Queen's 
Collegian.6  Francis  Hugh  O'D.  who  also  published  The 
First  Alarm,  respecting  the  Bulgarian  outrages  reprinted 
from  the  Spectator.7 

Charles  James  O'Donnell  wrote  The  Black  Pamphlet  of 
Calcutta,  or  the  famine  of  1874,  by  a  Bengal  civilian.  By 
the  same  author,  The  ruin  of  an  Indian  province,  or  an 
Indian  famine  explained.8 

TJie  Capture  of  Red  Hugh  0' Donnell,  an  historical  ballad 
by  "Finola,"  descriptive  of  the  treacherous  decoying  on 
board  an  English  ship  at  Rathmullan,  Lough  Swilly,  in 
1587,  of  Eed  Hugh  and  his  friends,  by  which  they  were 
taken  to  Dublin  Castle,  and  there  imprisoned.9 

i  (Madrid,  1861).  *  (Dublin,  1855).  *  (Dublin  1855.)  *  (Dublin,  1861). 
5  (Dublin,  1867).  6  (London,  1870).  7  (London,  1876).  8  (London,  1880). 

9  Standish  O'Grady,  Fr.  Murphy,  Flight  of  the  Earls,  Fr.  Meehan , 
Hay's  Ballnds  of  Inland,  vol.  1,  p.  140. 


O'DONOVAN  AND  O'CURRY.  267 

Jane  O'Donnell.  Life  of  General  F.  R.  Chesney.  Mrs. 
O'Donnell  published  this  life  of  the  nephew  of  Lord 
Moira  in  1855.  General  Chesney  was  born  atBallyheain 
the  County  of  Down,  16th  March,  1789.  He  published  a 
Narrative  of  the  Euphrates  Expedition,  and  other  kindred 
works,  he  died  at  Kilkeel,  in  his  native  county,  January 
31st,  1872. 

John  Francis  O'Donnell,  a  poet,  journalist,  and  author 
of  much  ability,  born  in  Limerick,  1837,  died  in  London, 
May,  1S74 ;  he  has  written  a  poem  on  the  Tombs  in  the 
Church  of  Montorio  on  the  Janiculum.1 

O'DONOVAN  AND  O'CURRY. 

Although  several  eminent  writers  had  written  on  the 
subject,  the  study  of  Irish  antiquities  and  its  revival, 
has  been  principally  the  work  of  Irish  scholars,  and  writers 
of  the  present  century.  Eecondite  references,  scattered 
throughout  the  libraries  of  Europe,  produced  by  the 
industry  and  labours  of  our  countrymen  abroad,  'were 
difficult  of  access.  J.  T.  Gilbert,  F.S.A.,  treating  of  the 
labours  of  John  O'Donovan,  gives  a  history  of  the  revival 
of  Celtic  literature.2  Shortly,  it  may  be  stated  that  this 
re-awakening  began  with  the  Ordnance  Survey  of  Ireland 
in  1825,  when  the  Irish  names  of  townlands,  hamlets,  and 
parishes,  troubled  the  engineers  as  to  their  correct  ortho- 
graphy. Fortunately  an  historical  section  of  the  Survey 
was  projected  and  placed  under  the  charge  of  George 
Petrie ;  to  this  section  O'Donovan  was  attached  in  1829. 

1  Cabinet  of  Irish  Literature,  vol.  iv..  p.  103. 

2  Dublin-  Review,  cii. 


268  INIS-OTTEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Here  was  commenced,  under  the  system  inaugurated  by 
Petrie,  an  examination  of  the  ancient  manuscripts  in  the 
Irish  language  by  O'Donovan.  Irish  topography,  a  know- 
ledge so  essential  in  determining  the  distinctive  names  of 
the  townland  survey  of  Ireland,  brought  O'Donovan 
rapidly  to  the  front,  and  the  production  of  the  Memoir  of 
the  City  and  North-western  Liberties  of  Derry,  Parish  of 
Templemorc,  published  in  1837,  established  Petrie's  fame 
as  an  artistic  arranger,  and  O'Donovan's  as  an  illustrator 
of  Irish  history.  The  Dublin  Penny  Journal,  a  popular 
production  at  the  time,  projected  by  a  Scotch  working 
printer  named  Francis  Ross,  was  the  medium  of  conveying 
to  Irish  readers  many  of  the  earliest  contributions  of  Petrie 
and  O'Donovan,1  whose  articles  therein  generally  appear 
over  the  letters  P.  and  J.  D.,  respectively. 

All  this  time  O'Donovan  was  engaged  on  the  work  of 
the  Ordnance  Survey,  when  in  November,  1835,  he  was 
joined  by  another,  who,  if  not  equal  in  archaeology,  was 
perhaps  greater  as  an  Irish  scholar:  this  was  Eugene 
O'Curry. 

During  the  settlement  of  the  orthography  of  the  names 
engraven  on  the  maps,  O'Donovan  and  his  assistants  pro- 
ceeded throughout  the  various  counties,  and  locally  ascer- 
tained the  traditions,  history,  and  surroundings,  of  every 
name  required;  Petrie  remaining  chiefly  in  Dublin,  arrang- 
ing, tabulating,  and  furnishing  extracts  from  printed  works 
and  manuscripts,  required  by  O'Donovan  in  his  elucidation. 

Here,  at  every  step  taken,  O'Donovan  found  that  the 
information  he  obtained  locally  as  applied  to  the  names 

*  Dublin  Penny  Journal,  4  vols,,  1832-1835. 


O'DONOVAN  AND  O'CURRY.  269 

of  church  lands,  parishes,  rivers  and  mountains,  had  be- 
come so  obscured  through  a  variety  of  changes,  corrup- 
tions, and  aliases,  that  without  some  authority  to  lean  upon 
for  support  the  whole  nomenclature  of  the  country  would 
end  in  confusion. 

The  topographical  notes  of  the  "  Iberno  learned  native 
of  Glen-Tochair,"  as  O'Donovan  styles  Colgan,  came  to  his 
aid.  The  youth  who  had  been  forced  to  abandon  his 
native  hills  had  furnished  the  means  of  solution  by  his 
incessant  labours  devoted  to  the  service  of  his  country. 
Every  church  and  district  had  been  topographically  de- 
scribed by  Colgan,  and  to  this  authority  O'Donovan  when 
in  doubt  turned,  finding  there  a  constant  attraction  like 
that  which  the  vibrating  needle  finds  in  the  Polar  current. 

In  1841,  the  "  Irish  Archaeological  Society"  was  founded, 
chiefly  through  the  exertions  of  Dr.  Todd,  F.T.C.D. ; 
its  first  publication  being  an  Irish  poem  connected  with 
Donegal,  written  in  A.D.  942,  by  Cormacan  Eigeas,  or 
the  Sage,  descriptive  of  the  great  feat  performed  by  Mur- 
tagh  M'Laughlin,  Prince  of  Aileach,  in  Inis-Owen,  who, 
with  one  thousand  warriors  made  the  circuit  of  Ireland  in 
the  preceding  year,  exacting  hostages  as  he  went  and 
leading  them  back  with  him  to 'Aileach,  bound  by  golden 
fetters.1 

With  this  Irish  A  rchceo  logical  and  Celtic  Society,  are 
associated  the  names  of  many,  who  by  their  contributions 
to  Irish  literature,  assisted  in  arousing  Ireland  from  the 
lethargy  into  which,  previous  to  this  period,  she  had 
fallen. 

1  The  Circuit  of  Ireland-  a  Form,  translated  and  edited  by  John 
O'Donovan,  Dublin,  1841. 


270  INIS-OWEN  AND  T1RCONNELL. 

Among  the  first  stands  the  name  of  Dr.  Reeves,  Pro- 
testant Bishop  of  Down  and  Connor.  His  St.  Columba 
would  alone  be  sufficient  to  establish  his  literary  fame, 
and  place  him  amongst  the  first  rank  of  Irish  antiquarians. 
The  late  Sir  Wm.  Wilde  has  left  the  Beauties  of  the  Boyne 
and  Lough  Corrib;  Gilbert,  his  many  standard  works; 
Reverend  Matthew  Russell,  Father  Meehan,  Canon 
O'Hanlon,  W.  K.  Sullivan,  Professor  George  Sigerson, 
M.D.,  and  many  others  have  each  left  Ireland  their  debtor. 
But  before  all  stand  the  names  of  O'Donovan  and  O'Curry. 

The  Government — becoming  alarmed,  either  from  the 
masses  of  Irish  historical  data  that  Petrie  and  O'Donovan 
were  unearthing,  or  from  the  parsimony  of  mind  of  each 
succeeding  Government  in  their  grants  for  Irish  literary 
purposes,  suddently  discontinued  the  historic  department 
of  the  Ordnance  Survey. 

O'Donovan  during  his  journeys  throughout  Ireland,  just 
as  Michael  O'Clery  had  previously  done  when  collecting  the 
Irish  originals,  always  kept  in  view  the  translation  and  the 
publication  of  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters.  The  wave 
of  inspiration  that  passed  over  Ireland  about  this  time  in  the 
prose  writings  and  songs  of  "Young  Ireland"  appears  to 
have  brought  forth  from  their  hidden  recesses  the  musty 
volumes  and  archaic  manuscripts  of  the  Irish  language. 
O'Donovan,  in  1848,  produced  through  George  Smith,  the 
Dublin  publisher,  (who  had  taken  a  great  interest  in 
O'Curry  and  Irish  literature)  three  volumes  of  the  Four 
Masters  which  were  completed  in  1851. 

We  are  indebted  to  O'Donovan  for  a  translation  of 
O'Clery's  Irish  text  of  the  Martyrology  of  Donegal '  into 

1  A  Calendar  of  the  Saints  of  Ireland,  Dublin,  1804. 


O'DONOYAN  AND  O'CURRY.  271 

English.  This  he  completed  early  in  the  year  of  his 
death,  which  occurred  in  1861,  in  the  52nd  year  of  his  age. 

Without  O'Donovan's  master  knowledge  of  Irish  topo- 
graphy and  Celtic  literature,  the  treasures  of  the  store- 
house, preserved  in  the  Annals  of  the  Four  Masters,  might 
never  have  been  so  elaborately  examined.  Donegal  can 
truthfully  b  oast  that  the  work  of  Ireland's  greatest  modern 
antiquarian  has  been  raised  on  foundations  laid  by  Donegal 
Annalists,  on  works  designed  by  Ward,  and  carried  into 
execution  chiefly  by  Colgaii  and  the  O'Clerys. 

Had  it  not  been  for  these  humble  Irish  friars,  with 
Louvain  as  their  centre,  impelled  by  their  love  of  Ireland, 
the  authentic  annals  of  our  country  and  our  race,  would 
most  probably  have  been  lost  for  ever. 

The  policy  advocated  by  Sir  Wm.  Petty  in  1672,  that 
"  it  would  not  be  amiss  if  the  significant  part  of  the  Irish 
names  were"  converted  into  English,  where  they  are  not, 
or  cannot  be  abolished,"  was  happily  frustrated  by  Petrie 
and  O'Donovan,  under  whose  care  in  the  Ordnance  Sur- 
vey, Irish  orthographical  distinctions  were  fairly  preserved. 

The  policy  of  denationalization  found  a  congenial  home  in 
every  seat  of  learning  fostered  on  Irish  soil  by  the  English 
Government.  Unaided,  the(work  of  preservation  has  been 
done  by  the  banished  friar  and  the  unremunerated  Irish 
scholar. 

EDWARD  O'DONNELL  M'DEVITT, 

Barrister-at-Law,  a  younger  brother  of  Bishop  M'Devitt,  was 
born  at  Glenties.  After  his  early  training  at  the  Catholic 
University,  he  emigrated  to  Australia  where  he  adopted  a 


272  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

political  career,  and  became  under  one  of  the  administrations 
of  the  Queensland  Government,  its  Attorney-General.  Mr. 
M'Devitt  came  back  to  Ireland  about  the  year  1876,  and 
joined  the  Irish  Bar.  He  published  a  work  entitled  a 
Manual  of  the  Irish  Land  Acts  of  1870  and  1881,1  which 
brought  him  under  the  notice  of  Mr.  Gladstone's  Govern- 
ment, then  in  office,  by  whom  for  a  period,  he  was  appointed 
legal  commissioner  to  one  of  the  sub-commissions  created 
for  the  settlement  of  judicial  rents  in  Ireland.  Mr. 
M'Devitt  during  his  first  residence  in  Australia,  to  which  he 
has  recently  returned,  contributed  many  literary  articles  to 
the  local  press.  He  has  also  published  a  Manual  of  the 
Tramway  and  Light  Railway  Act.'2 

GEORGE  SIGERSON. 

George  Sigerson,  though  born  at  Holyhill,  near  Strabane 
about  1840,  may  almost  be  claimed  to  belong  to  Donegal,  he 
received  all  his  early  training  if  not  actually  within  its 
bounds  at  least  from  those  who  were  Donegal  men.  He 
had  for  his  tutor  a  very  clever  Inis-Owen  teacher  in  the 
person  of  the  Rev.  William  Hegarty,  who  died  parish  priest 
of  Strabane,  and  from  whom  he  received  his  earliest  lessons 
in  English  classics.  George  Sigerson  was  afterwards 
placed  under  the  charge  of  Dr.  Crerand  of  Letterkenny ,  and 
subsequently  under  the  twin  brothers  Simpson,  well-known 
educationists  of  Derry.  Those  early  associations  with 
Donegal,  hearing  the  story  and  traditions  of  its  people,  left  an 
impression  on  his  mind  that  has  not  been  obliterated.  .Dr. 
Sigerson  has  found  a  place  of  distinction  among  the  writers 

>  (Dublin,  1881). 
*  (Dublin,  1381). 


GEORGE   SIGERSON,   M.D.  273 

of  Ireland  who  have  written  on  the  side  of  our  country ;  he 
and  Isaac  Butt  contributed  the  best  and  most  remarkable 
articles  that  ever  appeared  in  the  columns  of  the  Irishman. 
As  a  Celtic  scholar  he  has  translated  many  poems  from  the 
Irish.  Dr.  Sigerson's  poetry  finds  a  place  in  Irish  and  Eng- 
lish poetic  collections,  whilst  his  works  on  Modern  Ireland ; 
The  Land  Tenure  of  Ireland;  Two  Centuries  of  Irish  History, 
and  the  Treatment  of  Political  Prisoners,  have  been  much 
commended  by  those  well  qualified  to  form  an  opinion ; 
i.e.,  by  Mr.  Gladstone,  M.P ,  Mr.  Bryce,  M.P.,  and  Mr. 
Lecky,  etc.  His  medical  and  scientific  works  have  gained 
for  him  honoured  recognition  in  learned  societies  of  France, 
Belgium,  Germany,  Italy,  and  England,  which  have  con- 
ferred on  him  the  distinction  of  membership. 

As  we  cannot  divorce  Dr.  Sigerson  entirely  from  Tyrone, 
we  must  not  recapitulate  here  all  the  services  he  has 
rendered  to  the  cause  of  science  and  Irish  literature— ^  but 
as  a  proof  of  his  partiality  for  Donegal  we  can  mention  that 
he  produced  at  an  early  age  "The  Lovers  of  Moville",  a  poem 
in  fourteen  stanzas,  which  was  published  over  the  nom-de- 
plume  of  "  Erionach".1  The  same  story  has  since  been 
rendered  into  prose,  by  the  author  of  Jnis-  Owen.*  However 
much  it  may  tend  to  dispel  in  the  mind  of  the  reader  of 
the  story,  the  fanciful  and  chivalrous  self-sacrifices  of  the 
persons  described,  we  have  to  record  that  the  poem  is  but 
a  poetic  fiction  centred  around  Moville,  over  which  it 
hovered  in  its  flight. 

1  Duffy's  Hibernian  Magazine,  vol.  iii.,  pp.  181-3  (Dublin,  October,  1861). 
1  Inis-Owen,  by  Michael  Harkin,  pp.  165-170. 

35 


274  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

MICHAEL  HARKIN. 

Michael  Harkin  was  born  19th  March,  1830,  at  Tirna- 
league,  about  one  mile  north-west  of  Carn,  in  the  parish  of 
Donagh. 

Under  the  nom-de-plume  of  "  Maghtochair",  Michael 
Harkin  wrote  a  series  of  papers  on  the  history  and  antiquities 
of  Inis-Owen,  that  first  appeared  in  the  columns  of  the 
Derry  Journal.  These  he  afterwards  collected,  revised, 
and  published  in  book  form,  under  the  title  Inis-Owen,  ifs 
history,  traditions,  and  antiquities  by  Maghtochair.1 

The  historical  references  are  chiefly  taken  from  O'Dono- 
van's  Four  Masters.  Among  the  attractive  features  of 
Inis-Owen,  are  its  renderings  of  local  traditions  placed 
under  each  of  its  parochial  divisions.  Much  of  the  folk- 
lore and  allegory  of  the  old  peninsula,  had  it  not  been  for 
Michael  Harkin's  contribution,  must  have  been  lost  in  the 
whirl  of  this  matter-of-fact  age  we  live  in. 

In  the  chapter  devoted  to  Clonmany,  Harkin  has 
inserted  some  sixteen  lines,  the  production  of  a  local  poet 
named  McLaughlin,  descriptive  of  "  Pool-an-eas",  a  waterfall 
in  the  vicinity  of  Glen-House.  They  so  breathe  of  the 
freshness  of  the  mountain,  that  we  insert  the  last  lines. 

"  And  ages  shall  roll,  as  the  spray  that  rolls  o'er  thee, 
Unheeded,  unfelt  as  the  sigh  of  the  gale, 

O  O  ' 

When  the  heart  that  now  pours  its  effusion  before  thee 
Shall  be  laid  in  the  dust  a  mere  clod  of  the  vale".4 

1  Inis-Owen,  etc,  (Derry,  1867.) 

2  Ibid,  p.  70. 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  275 

CHARLES    ELLIOTT. 

Charles  Elliott,  D.D.,  a  Methodist  minister,  was  born  at 
Killybegs,  6th  May,  1792.  Having  received  his  education 
at  Dublin,  he  emigrated  to  America  when  twenty-two 
years  of  age,  where  four  years  later  he  joined  the  Ohio  Con- 
ference. In  1822,  he  was  appointed  superintendent  of  the 
Wyandotte  mission,  and  for  five  years  he  occupied  the 
position  of  presiding  elder  of  the  Ohio  district.  He  became 
a  distinguished  educationist,  and,  was  from  1827  to  1831, 
Professor  of  languages  in  Madison  College,  Uniontown, 
Pennsylvania.  He  edited  several  papers  connected 
religiously  with  his  Methodist  connection  at  Pittsburg 
and  Cincinnati,  where  he  resided  till  1848.  He  was 
president  of  the  Iowa  Wesleyan  Union.  As  an  author  his 
chief  works  were  connected  with  the  history  of  Wesleyanism. 
He  died  at  Mountpleasant,  Iowa,  Gth  January,  1869.' 

JOHN  HOOD. 

John  Hood,  born  at  Moyle,  near  Newtown-Cunningham, 
in  the  year  1720,  was  the  inventor  of  a  surveying  instru- 
ment known  as  "  Hood's  Compass,  Theodolite,  or  Cir- 
cumferentor. 

Hood  was  the  author  of  a  Treatise  on  Land  Surveying. 
It  is  stated  that  Hood  anticipated  the  invention  of  Hadley's 
Quadrant ;  his  grandson  Samuel  Hood,  who  emigrated  to 
Philadelphia  in  1826,  was  the  author  of  a  Practical  Treatise 
on  the  Law  of  Decedents,3  and  other  works.4 

»  Drake's  Bioy.  Diet.  (Boston,  1876).  «  (Dublin,  1772.)    »  (Philadelphia, 
1847.)    «  (Allibone'a  Dictionary.) 


276  INIS-OWEN  AND  TTRCONNELL. 

FRANCIS   ALLISON,  D.D. 

Francis  Allison,  born  in  Co.  Donegal,  in  1705. 

He  emigrated  to  America,  in  1735,  and  became  pastor 
of  a  Presbyterian  Church,  of  which  body  he  was  a  member. 
At  the  same  time  he  taught  as  an  educator  in  New  London, 
Pennsylvania,  until  1752.  During  this  latter  year  he 
removed  to  Philadelphia,  and  officiated  in  the  first  Presby- 
terian church  in  that  city,  of  which  he  was  pastor,  as- 
suming also  direction  of  the  academy,  thus  acting  in  the 
dual  capacity  throughout  his  life,  as  a  teacher  and  preacher. 
On  the  24th  May,  1758,  he  delivered  a  remarkable  sermon 
on  peace  and  unity.  By  his  will  he  recommended  the 
emancipation  of  his  slaves.1 

During  the  time  he  was  vice-provost  of  the  College  of 
Philadelphia,  some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  American 
Revolution  were  educated  under  his  tuition. 

He  died  at  Philadelphia,  28th  November,  1779. 

T.    C.   MACGINLEY. 

Thomas  Colin  MacGinley  was  born  at  Drumbarity,  near 
Killybegs,  in  the  year  1830,  where  he  received  his  early 
education;  and  commenced  life  as  a  monitor  in  the 
National  School  of  Fintra.  Previous  to  his  training  at  the 
Central  Schools  in  Dublin,  he  had  been  successively  a 
teacher  from  1850  at  Ardara  and  other  schools  in  the 
western  district  of  Tyrconnell. 

From  Malboro'  Street,  he  became  teacher  of  a  school  in 
Ballymacarett,  Belfast.  In  1856,  he  was  appointed  by  the 

1  Appletorfs  Cyclopaedia,  vol.  1,  p.  49  (New  York,  1887). 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  277 

late  Rev.  F.  Drummond,  P.P.,  Killybegs,  teacher  of  the 
Croagh  School,  Dunkineely,  where  he  remained  till  1879, 
when  he  was  promoted  to  the  "Niall  Mor"  Schools  at 
Killybegs,  under  the  late  Monsignor  Stephens,  •  when  he 
attained  to  the  position  of  first  place  among  first-class 
teachers. 

Thomas  C.  MacGinley  was  an  excellent  educationist, 
possessed  of  much  literary  ability ;  he  published  the  Cliff 
Scenery  of  South  Western  Donegal,1  a  local  work,  descrip- 
tive of  the  scenery  and  legends  of  that  part  of  Donegal, 
also  A  Treatise  on  Biology?  which  was  placed  on  the 
list  as  a  text  book  for  students  on  that  subject  by  the 
Science  and  Art  department  of  South  Kensington.  He  was 
also  author  of  other  works,  on  Arithmetic  and  Conic  Sec- 
tions that  have  not  been  published. 

Some  of  MacGinley 's  pupils  have  made  a  name  for  them- 
selves at  home  and  abroad.  Among  those  at  home  are 
Rev.  Edward  Maguire,  a  distinguished  Professor  in  the 
College  of  Maynooth ;  Rev.  Joseph  Boyle,  P.P.,  Raphoe, 
many  of  the  younger  members  of  the  priesthood  of  that 
district  received  their  early  training  under  Thomas 
MacGinley. 

Rev.  Jaines  Sinnott,  Rector  of  St.  Charles  Borromeo's, 
Philadelphia,  and  Rev.  John  Kelly,  were  both  MacGinley's 
pupils,  Thomas  MacGinley  died  lltli  April,  1887. 

HENRY   DOHERTY. 

Henry  Doherty,  was  born  about  1660,  in  the  to'wnland  of 

1  Journal  Office,  Deny,  1867. 

2  William  Collins  and  Sons,  Glasgow. 


278  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Muff,  in  the  parish  of  Culdaff ;  having  received  an  ex- 
cellent education,  he  joined  the  army  of  James  II.,  and 
fought  at  the  Battle  of  the  Boyne.  When  Sarsfield 
collected  the  scattered  forces  of  the  adherents  of 
James,  with  which  he  made  his  memorable  defence  of 
Limerick,  Henry  Doherty  was  appointed  secretary  to 
that  General.  The  articles  of  the  Treaty  of  Limerick,  in 
the  Irish  language,  were  prepared  by  this  Irish  scholar 
from  Inis-Owen.  After  the  capitulation,  Doherty  found 
his  way  back  to  his  native  parish,  where  he  resided 
till  his  death  among  his  kinsfolk.  The  last  member  of  the 
family  o/ his  descendants  emigrated  to  America  in  1867.1 

KOBERT    A.    WILSON. 

Robert  A.  Wilson,  whose  father  was  in  the  Coast-Guard 
service,  was  born  near  Malin  Head,  in  Inis-Owen,  about 
the  year  1820.  His  mother,  who  had  received  a  liberal 
education,  early  interested  him  in  literature.  Having  re- 
moved to  Falcarragh,  in  the  parish  of  Raymunterdowney, 
in  Western  Tirconnell,  Wilson  there  learnt  his  elementary 
lessons.  After  the  death  of  his  mother  he  emigrated  to 

America,  where  he  attached  himself  to  the  Press,  on  which 
•  .   .  .  .  .  . 

he  made  brilliant  progress  until  failing  health  obliged  him 

to  return  to  Ireland.      Wilson's  mind  was  of  the  clearest 

and  most  retentive  kind,  combined  with  acute  perception. 

On  his  arrival  in  Ireland,  still  a  young  man,  he  applied 

himself  to  a  study  of  the  Land  Question,  under  the  Northern 

title  of  Tenant-Right,  and  joined  Charles  Gavan  Duffy  for 

a  short  time  during  the  early  days  of  the  "  Nation,"  in 

1  Harkiu's  Ini-.-Otatn,  p,  152. 


"BARNEY  MAGLONE".  279 

1847  and  1848.  His  health  being  delicate  he  was  obliged 
to  forego  work  for  a  time,  after  which  he  joined  the  staff 
of  the  Fermanagh  Reporter,  and  the  Enniskillen  A  dvertiser, 
from  which  sprang  the  famous  letters  so  peculiarly  racy  of 
the  northern  dialect,  that  appeared  over  the  signature  of 
"Barney  Maglone." 

In  1865,  Wilson  came  to  Belfast,  where  he  joined  the 
staff  of  the  Belfast  Morning  News,  then  under  the  pro- 
prietorship of  the  late  Robert  and  Daniel  Read.  Here 
Wilson  obtained  a  wider  field  for  his  ability,  and  his 
Barney  Maglone  letters  to  "  my  cousin  in  America,"  became 
one  of  the  attractions  of  that  journal,  they  were  hailed 
in  all  circles  as  gems  of  satirical  and  humorous  ability,  in- 
terspersed with  scraps  of  original  poetry. 

To  the  Ulster  Weekly,  the  weekly  edition  of  the  Morning 
News,  he  contributed  the  article  headed  "  Notions  of  things" 
that  greatly  assisted  to  bring  the  paper  into  general 
notice.  His  ballad  poetry  left  in  these  journals  would 
be  worthy  of  collection  and  re-production  as  additions 
to  our  national  poetry.  His  capacity  for  writing  blank 
verse  was  of  the  most  facile  kind,  and  no  readier  leader 
writer  was  on  the  staff  of  these  papers ;  his  memory  was 
so  strong,  that,  in  addition  to  his  native  'Irish,  in  which  he 
was  proficient,  he  acquired  a  knowledge  of  Latin,  Greek 
Italian,  German,  Spanish,  and  French,  from  the  authors  in 
any  of  these  languages  he  made  free  translations  with 
evident  ease.  Wilson  was  always  found  advocating  the 
cause  of  the  oppressed,  his  disposition  was  as  tender  as 
that  of  a  child,  he  died  at  Belfast,  10th  August,  1875, 
and  his  remains  rests  in  the  cemetery  of  that  city,  over 
which  his  numerous  friends  and  admirers  have  erected  a 


280  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

suitable  monument,   on  which   is   the   following  inscrip- 
tion:— 

"In  memory  of  the  late  Robert  A.  Wilson,  an  able 
journalist,  a  gifted  poet,  a  fearless  advocate  of  the  rights 
of  the  people.  Obit,  10th  August,  1875." 

"  Then  his  dust  to  the  dust, 
And  his  soul  to  its  rest ; 
But  his  memory  to  those 
Who  can  cherish  it  best". —  Wilson. 

We  are  indebted  for  the  particulars  made  use  of  in  this 
sketch  to  his  fellow-labourer  on  the  editorial  staff  of  the 
Morning  Neivs,  Mr.  Thomas  Read  Ward. 

REV.    PETER   KELLY. 

The  Rev.  Peter  Kelly,  born  in  Ballyshannon,  now  parish 
priest  of  Dunfanaghy,  is  a  writer  who  wields  a  trenchant 
pen.  He  marshals  his  facts  with  continuity,  and  displays 
great  clearness  in  his  logic.  More  than  one  opponent 
with  whom  he  has  broken  a  literary  lance  during  the 
land  agitation  has  suffered  severely.  Father  Kelly  as  a 
correspondent  for  several  English  Journals  has  contributed 
many  able  letters  in  sustainment  of  the  tenantry  and  their 
cause  in  North- West  Donegal.  As  an  independent  critic  ot 
public  affairs,  Father  Kelly  has  taken  and  expressed  an  in- 
terest in  most  public  questions  connected  with  Donegal. 
Whether  in  the  Press,  or  on  the  platform,  he  always  brings 
to  bear  on  his  subject  a  breadth  of  intelligence,  combined 
with  an  easy  faculty  for  distinctness.  His  public  letters  and 
speeches  if  collected  would  make  a  fair-sized  volume. 


VARIOUS  WRITERS.  281 

REV.   EDWARD  MAGUIRE  AND   OTHERS. 

Rev.  Edward  Maguire,  Professor  of  Rhetoric  in  the 
College  of  Maynooth,  was  born  at  Boneyglen  near  Inver. 
Father  Maguire  has  been  a  constant  contributor  to  the 
Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record,  he  is  a  capable  speaker  and  a 
sound  classical  scholar. 

Rev.  Edward  Brady,  born  in  Donegal,  late  military 
chaplain,  was  a  contributor  to  the  1.  E.  Record.  Rev.  James 
Gallagher,  Adm.  Inver,  has  written  some  poetry  containing 
much  merit,  whilst  his  published  sermons  have  been  justly 
praised. 

Thomas  Lucas  Scott,  A.M.,  Rector  of  Lower  Moville, 
and  one  of  the  Canons  of  Derry  Cathedral,  is  the  author 
of  a  work  on  episcopal  succession.  The  work  would 
appear  to  be  directed  chiefly  against  some  of  the  doctrines 
held  by  the  Plymouth  Brethren,  Presbyterians,  and  some 
others,  on  the  subject  of  bishops,  being  what  the  author 
terms  a  discussion  upon  the  nature  of  the  Christian 
ministry.1 

MICHAEL   SCANLAN, 

Michael  Scanlan,  a  native  of  inis-Owen,  engaged  as  a 
journalist  in  America,  Avrote  some  verses  on  Inis-Owen 
that  appeared  in  the  Irish  Penny  Readings.  Other  poems 
relating  to  his  native  place  and  one  entitled  Beautiful 
City  of  Derry,  is  said  to  have  been  published. 

We  have  been  unable  to  find  any  mention  made  of  his 
name,  in  the  American  biographies,  though  several  familiar 

'  A  Talk  about  Bishops,  by  Thos.  Lucas  Scott,  A.M.  (Belfast,  1878.) 

36 


INIS-OWEN   AND   TIKCONNELL. 

names  appear  creditably  recording  the   talents  of  Irish 
writers  hailing  from  the  borders  of  the  County  Donegal. 


John  McCullough,  an  eminent  American  tragedian, 
was  born  at  Coleraine,  November,  22nd  1837,  having  emi- 
grated to  Philadelphia,  in  1 852,  where  he  was  first  employed 
as  a  chairrnaker.  Having  adopted  the  stage  as  a  profession, 
he  became  eminent  in  the  characters  of  Virginias,  Othello, 
and  jRichelieu.  He  died  at  New  York,  8th  November, 
1885. 

HUGH  O'HAGAN, 

born  in  Deny  in  1788,  emigrated  to  Canada  in  1799,  where 
he  arose  to  the  position  of  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  at  St. 
Mary's  in  1824.  Owing  to  local  difficulties  at  Montreal 
he  removed  to  Bytown  in  1837,  where  for  many  years  he 
became  a  distinguished  educationist,  and  kept  a  school, 
whereat  many  of  the  leading  men  in  Canada,  received 
their  education.  He  was  captain  of  the  Carleton  Militia, 
and  though  a  Roman  Catholic,  he  was  a  strong  Conservative 
in  politics.  He  died  in  the  fall  of  1865,  and  was  buried 
in  the  family  vault  under  the  R.C.  Church,  Gatineau-Point. 
His  son  Frank  O'Hagan,  born  in  1833  at  Bytown,  was 
intended  for  the  Church,  but  followed  a  literary  career,  he 
edited  the  Ottawa  Citizen  and  Times,  and  died  of  con- 
sumption in  1872,  when  his  remains  were  placed  beside 
those  of  his  father.1 

1  Irishmen  in   Canada,   by  Nicholas  F.  Davin,  p.  318,   London  and 
Toronto. 


XXV. 

OTHER  WRITERS  IN   GAELIC. 

Giolla  Brighide  MacCoinmhidho  (MacConway),  a  re- 
tainer of  the  O'Donnells,  flourished  about  the  year  1353. 
His  poems  about  seven  in  number,  that  have  come  down 
to  us,  and  copies  of  which  are  preserved,  are  mostly  in  praise 
of  the  family  of  the  O'Donnells,  princes  of  Tirconnell.1 
To  this  author  is  sometimes  attributed  a  poem  of  one  hun- 
dred and  forty-eight  lines,  in  praise  of  the  Blessed  Virgin, 
beginning  "  "ptnjeAll  beAttAct:  bf\u  tTltn^e". 

Geoffrey  O'Clery,  wrote  about  the  year  1440,  and  four 
poems  by  O'Clery  on  religious  subjects  have  been  preser- 
ved. Brian  Roe  Mac  Conway,  a  retainer  of  O'Neills  and 
O'Donnells,  also  flourished  about  the  year  1440,  his  poem 
on  Neachtan,  son  of  Torlogh  (an  fhiona,  of  the  wine) 
O'Donnell  prince  of  Tirconnell,  contains  one  hundred  and 
forty-eight  verses  or  lines  beginning  "  lonroA  U|Ayivum  Ag 
UluAig" — "The  Ultonians  have  great  respect".3 

MAC  AN  BHAIRD . 

Owen  Roe  Mac  an  Bhaird(Ward)  chief  poet  of  Tirconnell, 
died  in  1510.  A  copy  of  only  one  of  his  poems  appears  to 
have  been  preserved.  It  contains  one  hundred  and  thirty  six 
verses  or  lines  on  the  death  of  Donald  O'Donnell,  and 
begins  —  "teAfg  AH  ATDAI^I  A]A  eAy  -pUAX)".  "  Sloth  this  night 
on  Asseroe".3 

1  Trans.  Iberno  Celtic  Society,  vol.  l,p.  xcvii,  Dublin,  1820. 

2  Ibid,  p.  cxxvi. 

3  Copy  in  11. 1,  Academy's  collection. 


284  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIECONNELL  . 

Manus  O'Donnell,  a  poet,  flourislied  about  the  year  1532. 
Copies  of  five  poems  on  different  subjects  are  preserved.1 

About  1554  lived  a  distinguished  poet  named  Teige 
Mor  O'CofFey,  who  wrote  a  poem  in  praise  of  Manus,  son 
of  Aodh  dubh  O'Donnell,  who  it  is  said  gave  the  poet,  a 
mare  for  every  rann  in  the  poem.  It  contained  twenty 
ranns,  beginning  "  CIA  \\e  ccuifipinn  ]*e<vo  ruipje?"  "  Who 
sends  the  gifts  of  courtship  ?" 

Fearghal  Og  Mac  an  Bhaird  died  on  the  13th  March, 
1583,  he  was  author  of  an  elegy  on  Hugh,  son  of  Hugh  Duff 
O'Donnell,  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  twenty  lines, 
and  also  an  elegy  on  the  death  of  Calbhach,  the  son  of 
Hugh,  containing  three  hundred  and  twenty  lines,  copies 
are  in  the  library  of  the  K.I.  A. 

Maolmuire,  son  of  Conula  Me  an  Bhaird  (Ward)  flourished 
about  the  year  1587. 

Five  copies  of  three  poems  of  this  author  are  in  the  Irish 
Academy's  collection,  the  first -is  an  address,  to  Red  Hugh, 
son  of  Hugh  Dubh  O'Donnell,  Chief  of  Tirconnell.  This  was 
the  celebrated  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell,  who  was  kidnapped 
in  Lough  Swilly  by  the  English  when  only  sixteen  years 
of  age,  and  carried  off  in  a  vessel  flying  Spanish  colours. 
He  was  confined  in  Dublin  Castle,  where  he  was  subjected 
to  the  greatest  cruelty. 

His  sufferings  called  forth  this  poem  by  our  author, 
consisting  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-six  verses,  or  lines,  be- 
ginning, "1omcti}\  c'<M:cui|\fe  A  ^Xo-6  JUIATO" — "Support 
thy  great  afflictions,  0  Red  Hugh" — Mac  an  Ward  therein 
encourages  his  youthful  prince  to  bear  up  against  the  persc- 

1  Copy  in  R.  I.  Academy's  collection  (II.  and  S.  collection  No.  207)* 
copied  by  John  U'Murrogh,  of  Carrignafear,  1744. 


OTHER  WRITERS   IN   GAELIC.  285 

cutions  of  his  enemies,  to  place  his  confidence  in  God,  the 
chastiser  of  the  wicked,  and  protector  of  the  just. 

The  second  poem  appears  to  have  been  written  after  Eed 
Hugh's  escape  from  Dublin  Castle;  meantime  the  author  had 
evidently  fallen  under  the  displeasure  of  his  prince,  with 
whom  he  remonstrates,  and  asserts  his  faithful  servitude. 
The  poem  consists  of  sixty-eight  verse  lines,  beginning 
"  C|Ae<vo  -puAjAAif  ojum  A  ^ot>",  "  What  hast  thou  found  on 
me,  Oh  Hugh". 

The  third  poem  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  four  verse  lines, 
is  addressed  to  the  Castle  of  Donegal,  and  begins  "  A  •otnnn 
cif  ACA  ACAenAf\"  "O  castle  below,  thou  art  solitary". 
Red  Hugh  having  dismantled  the  castle  lest  it  might  fall 
into  the  hands  of  the  English,  against  whom  he  was  waging 
a  vigorous  warfare.1 

Father  Meehan  gives  J.  C.  Mangan's  translation,  con- 
sisting of  thirty-two  verses,  from  the  Irish  of  Mac-an-Bhairdj 
addressed  to  the  ruins  of  Donegal  Castle,  beginning  : — 

"  O  mournful,  O  forsaken  pile, 

What  desolation  dost  thou  dree  ! 
How  tarnished  is  the  beauty  that  was  thine  erewhile, 
Thou  mansion  of  chaste  melody!"2 

Duffy  O'Duigan  flourished  about  the  year  1588,  a 
fine  copy  of  his  poem  of  three  hundred  and  sixty  eight 
verse  lines  on  the  history  of  the  O'Donnells  is  preserved.15 

This  poern   is  a  chronicle  of  the  kings  and  princes  of 

1  O'Reilly's  Irish    Writer's,  p.  cxlvii. 
3  Flight  of  the  Earls  pp.   606-610. 
3  In  E.  L  Academy's  collection. 


286  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

the  Clan-Dalaigh  from  the  year  1199  to  1600,  when  Hugh 
Eoe  O'Donnell  had  governed  the  principality  during  eight 
years.  The  O'Donnells  derive  their  descent  from  the  Clan- 
Dalaigh,  and  are  called  Muinter-Dalaigli,  i.e.,  Dalaigh's 
people,  from  Dalach,  their  great  ancestor,  and  they  receive 
the  name  O'Donnell  from  Domhnall  Mor  the  grandson  of 
Dalaigh. 

Another  copy  of  this  poem  was  formerly  in  the  library 
of  the  late  Eev.  Doctor  O'Brien,  professor  of  Irish  in  the 
College  of  Maynooth.  The  poem  begins,  "  "LeAtiAm 
cpomic  CtAnn  "OAt-Aig,  "Let  us  pursue  the  chronicle  of 
Clann  Dalaigh. 

The  period,  bordering  on  what  has  been  termed  the 
boundary  between  ancient  and  modern  times,  or  about  the 
beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  produced  many 
writers,  who  made  the  principal  events  then  occurring  in 
the  country,  the  theme  of  their  song  and  story. 

Cuchonacht,  son  of  Malachy  O'Daly,  addressed  a  poem, 
about  the  year  1590,  to  his  friend  and  companion  Hugh 
Roe  O'Donnell,  a  copy  of  which  exists  in  R.I.  A.  It  begins, 
Cionnuf -ooftnccprmp  Aoti)  ?  "  "How  could  I  leave  you, 
Hugh". 

Dermod  Mac  an  Bhaird,  a  contemporary  poet,  wrote  a 
poem  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  verse  lines,  as  an  elegy  on 
the  death  of  Alexander  McDonald,  son  of  Conor  Roe,  Chief 
of  the  Irish  McDonalds,  beginning  "  peAfOA  A^  cAince  clArm 
"OoninAitl",  "Henceforward  mournful  are  the  McDonalds''.1 

THE  CONTENTION  OF  THE  BARDS. 

It  was  in  the  beginning  of  the  seventeenth  century,  that 
1  O'Reilly's  Irish  Writers,  p.  cxviii. 


OTHER  WRITERS  IN    GAELIC.  287 

the1oniAj\b<y6,  or  Contention  of  the  Bards  began,  originating 
•with  Teige  MacDaire,  son  of  Daire  MacBrody,  the  principal 
poet  to  Donogh  O'Brien,  fourth  Earl  of  Thomond. 

O'Brien  was  then  under  the  favourable  notice  of  the 
English  of  the  Pale,  not  so  the  Chieftains  of  Ulster  or 
Connaught,  who  were  resisting  by  force  of  arms,  during 
the  reign  of  Elizabeth,  the  conquest  of  their  country  by 
the  English. 

Just    as    Edmund    Spencer    extolled  Elizabeth  in  the 

cantos  of  the  Fairie  Queen,  MacDaire  celebrated  in  song 

the    glory  of  the  house    of  Thomond,    claiming  for  the 

O'Briens  a  superiority  over  the  descendants  of  the  O'Neills, 

O'Donnells,  O'Conors,  and  the  clansmen  of  Ulster. 

This  literary  contention,  embraces  in  its  recitals  much 
of  the  history  of  Ireland  relating  to  that  particular  period^ 
and  is  expressed  in  elegant  and  vigorous  Celtic  verse.  It 
produced  able  assailers  and  defenders  on  both  sides. 

Among  those  representing  Tirconnell,  we  can  reckon 
Luhaid  O'Clery,  Aodh  O'Donnell,  Robert  McArthur,  and 
John  O'Clery. 

LEWEY  O'CLERY. 

Luhaid  O'Clery  at  this  time  was  O'Donnell's  chief  bard, 
and  as  M'Daire  was  the  leader  of  the  attack  on  behalf  of 
t,eAc  liiogA,  or  the  Momonian  clans,  so  it  devolved  on 
O'Clery  to  be  the  chief  of  the  defenders  of  "LeAt  cVitnrm, 
or  the  Connallians.  Among  the  poems,  copies  of  which 
are  preserved  in  the  R.I. A.  collection,  are  the  following: — 

1.  A  poem  of  three-hundred  and  forty  verse  lines  in  de- 
fence of  Torna  Eigeas,  the  learned  poet  of  Niall  of  the  Nine 


288  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Hostages,  who  flourished  about  the  year  405.  O'Clery 
wrote  this  poem  in  reply  to  the  attack  made  on  Toma  by 
M'Daire  it  begins  : — 

"A.  utiAi'og  tiA  rACAOif\  c6|\n<\" — "Oh,  Taig  revile  not 
Torna". 

2.  A  poem  of  nine  hundred  and  eighty-eight  verse  lines 
(the  longest  poem  written  by  McDaire  on  this  occasion  was 
one  of  six-hundred  and  eighty-eight  verse  lines  sent  as  a  reply 
to  AodhO'Donnell),  in  which  O'Clery  producesmuch  history 
and  many  Irish  proverbs  in  support  of  his  cause,  it  begins 
—  "  *Oo  cuAlA  AJA  cAgfiAifi  ACAix>5". — "  I  have  heard  all 
you  have  pleaded,  Oh  !  Taig". 

3  In  another  poem  O'Clery  has  left  recorded  that  in  Tir- 
connell  at  that  time  there  were  many  better  poets  than 
himself — yet  as  they  were  silent,  he  (as  the  poet  laureate  of 
his  prince)  feels  it  his  duty  to  take  up  the  discussion,  this 
poem  contains  seventy-two  verse  lines,  and  begins — "II A 
b^ofo  nieifeA  •meic'OAi^e". — "  Provoke  me  not,  Oh!  son  of 
Daire". 

4.  A  poem  •  in  continuation  of  the  same  subject  by 
O'Clery  of  one  hundred  and  twenty  verse  lines,  wherein  he 
reviews  the  contest,  and  calls  on  McDaire  to  desist  from  his 
endeavour  to  elevate  above  their  proper  place  the  characters 
of  those  whose  cause  he  has  espoused,  it  begins — "  An 
ccltnne  me  A  ifieic  T)Ai^e". — "Do  you  hear  me,  Oh!  son 
of  Daire". 

ROBERT    MC ARTHUR. 

Aodh  O'Donnell,  by  his  contribution  to  the  contest  called 
forth  two  poems  from  Taig  McDaire. 


289 

Robert  Me  Arthur,  a  Doctor  of  Divinity  and  a  Franciscan 
Friar  of  the  College  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua  in  Louvain, 
contributed  two  poems  to  the  contest  .  These  were  written 
at  Louvain,  in  vindication  of  Torn  a  Eigeas,  whose  credit 
as  a  writer  had  been  assailed  by  McDaire,  chiefly  because  he 
assumed  Torna  was  a  pagan.  The  Rev  Franciscan  con- 
tends that  Torna  was  a  Christian,  and  supports  that  position 
by  the  praise  he  extends  to  Torna  in  his  poems,  and  is  sup- 
ported in  this  view  by  Colgan.1  Dr.  Me  Arthur's  first  poem 
consists  of  one  hundred  and  forty  verse  lines,  beginning — 
"tlleAfA  A  c<Mt>5  •oofeygtuvif  £6m" — "Worse,  0  Taig, thyself 
hast  pleaded". 

The  second  poem  contains  seven  hundred  and  eighty- 
four  verses  which  was  a  reply  to  McDaire 's  poem  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty-two  verses  in  which  he  tells  the  Rev. 
Franciscan  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  his  order,  as  he  con- 
sidered it  unbecoming  in  a  clergyman  to  meddle  in  other 
matters,  Dr.  Me  Arthur  defends  himself  against  the  illiberality 
of  McDaire,  the  poem  begins — "  5e  f^01^  cu  cAitKj  nAc 
'OeAj\nA".Though  you  think,  oh  Teige,  it  will  not  do''. 

ECLIPSE. 

The  onward  wave  of  foreign  encroachment,  at  length 
broke  into  Ulster  during  the  latter  days  of  Elizabeth,  when 
the  native  princes  were  forced  to  find  safety  by  flight. 

The  song  of  the  Bards  winged  its  course  to  other  shores, 
and  followed  in  the  train  of  the  princes  of  Tirowen  and 
Tirconnell,  when  they  sailed  away  from  Rathmullen.  The 
next  note  we  hear  by  a  bard  of  Tirconnell,  is  one  of  sadness 

1  O'Reilly's  Irish  Writers,  p.  xxv. 

37 


290  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

from  the  Capitol  at  Rome,  addressed  there  to  Nuala  0 
Donnell,  and  which  has  been  translated  into  those  words  of 
touching  pathos  by  James  Clarence  Mangan,  beginning 
"  Oh !  woman  of  the  piercing  wail !  " 

Here  an  eclipse  extinguished  the  literary  efforts  of 
the  native  bards,  who  had  to  seek  for  themselves  in  the 
fastnesses  of  the  mountains,  a  place  of  safety  and  retreat. 

Yet  Celtic  literature  in  the  form  of  legends  and  story- 
telling, still  survived  in  the  northern  and  western  districts 
of  Donegal. 

Away  in  the  recesses  of  the  mountains  the  Senachie, 
discoursed  in  the  Celtic  tongue,  and  still  during  the  winter 
nights  recites  at  the  fire-side  the  stories  of  the  past. 

In  Inis-Owen,  during  the  first  half  of  the  present  cen- 
tury, chiefly  in  Clonmany  and  Malin,  poetical  fragments 
were  found  to  exist  among  the  people,  who  frequently 
repeated  Celtic  verse.  The  mountain  herds  sang  these 
national  stanzas,  which  were  of  a  kind  similar  to  the 
celebrated  Hans  des  Vaches^  sometimes  they  were  recited 
in  the  form  of  question  and  answer  after  the  manner  of  the 
Ossianic  poems. 

Mr. William  Lanninie,2  has  collected  in  Tirconnell  around 
Malinmore,  in  Glencolumbkillle,  and  taken  down  phoneti- 
cally about  fifteen  different  stories  from  Patrick  Meenahan, 
and  frornseveral  other  persons,  in  the  district  of  Glencolumb- 
kille,  he  was  furnished  with  about  ten  more,  as  well  as  one 
at  Nairn. 

Two  of  these  stories  have  been  reduced  into  modern  Celtic, 
and  published  under  the  headings — "  The  Three  Questions", 

1  Statistical  account  of  Cloncha,  by  Rev.  E.  Chichester. 
*  Glaulua,  etc.,  and  other  poems. 


THE  CATHACH.  291 

and  "  Niall  O'Ccarbhuidh",  among  a  number  of  other  Celtic 
stories,  in  the  Leabhar  Syeulaigheachta,  or,  '  Book  of 
Story-telling',  by  Douglas  Hyde,  LL.D.1 

Reference  has  been  recently  made  to  Donegal  Folk- 
lore by  Mr.  Curtin  in  a  publication  produced  under  the 
sanction  and  at  the  expense  of  the  American  Government. 
Mr.  Curtin,  a  few  years  ago  made  a  circuit  of  Ireland,  and 
has  given  his  recollections  of  Donegal  in  the  pages  of  the 
volume  referred  to. 


XXVI. 
THE  CATHACH. 

The  respect  entertained  for  copies  of  the  Gospels  by  the 
ancient  Irish  has  been  strikingly  shown  in  the  care  they 
bestowed  on  their  preservation.  They  encased  them  within 
shrines  that  soon  acquired  veneration,  as  depositories  of 
Holy  Writ. 

These  copies  were  placed  in  boxes,  generally  made  from 
the  wood  of  the  yew  or  oak,  which  were  afterwards  enshrined 
in  cases  of  metal  work  of  brass  or  copper,  plated  with  silver 
and  richly  gilt.  They  were  embossed  with  Scriptural 
devices,  the  effigies  of  saints  or  bishops,  and  ornamented 
with  settings  of  polished  crystals,  amethysts,  lapis-lazuli,  and 
other  gems.2  We  give  a  view  of  the  Cathach  as  it  now  ap- 
pears from  a  recent  drawing  by  Mr.  George  Coffey,  M  K.I. A 

1  (Dublin  18  SO). 

2  Betkatn's  Antiquarian  Researches,  vol.  1,  p.  20. 


292 


INIS-OWEtf  AND  TIRCONNELL. 


Among  the  reliquarieslformerly  licld  in  high  veneration 
in  Ireland,  there  are  none  that  possesses  a  greater  interest 


THE  CATHACH.  293 

for  the  descendants  of  the  Clan-Conaill  than  the  Cathach, 
or  "Book  of  Battles",  belonging  to  the  O'Donnells.  It 
contained  a  copy  of  the  Psalms,  believed  to  have  been 
actually  traced  by  the  hand  of  St.  Columkille,  the  patron 
saint  of  Tirconnell.1 

O'Curry's  translation  from  Manns  O'Donnell's  Life  of  St. 
Columkille  gives  an  account  of  how  this  transcription  of 
the  Psalms  was  produced. 

On  one  occasion  St.  Columkille  paid  a  visit  to  St. 
Finnen,  of  Dromfinn  in  Ulster,  during  which  visit  he 
borrowed  St.  Finnen's  copy  of  the  Psalms.  Being  desirous 
of  obtaining  a  copy  of  the  book,  and  fearing  if  he  asked 
liberty  to  make  one  he  might  be  refused,  he  remained  in. 
the  church  daily  after  every  one  had  left,  during  which 
time  he  made  a  hurried  copy,  but  not  before  he  was 
observed  by  one  of  St.  Finnen's  people,  who  reported  it  to 
the  saint ;  Finnen  took  no  notice  of  the  matter  till  he  found 
the  copy  had  been  finished,  and  he  then  sent  to  Columb 
for  it,  alleging  that  as  the  original  was  his,  and  he  had 
given  no  permission  to  copy  it,  the  surreptitious  copy  was 
likewise  his  by  right. 

St.  Columkille  refused  to  comply  with  the  request,  but 
offered  to  refer  the  cause  of  the  dispute  to  the  king  Diarmid 
MacFergusa  Gerrbhcoil ;  St.  Finnen  consenting,  both 
presented  themselves  before  the  king  at  Tara,  and  stated 
their  case.  It  was  on  this  occasion  the  king  gave  the 
decision  that  has  ever  since  remained  an  Irish  proverb, 
"le^Ach  boin  A  bomm", — i.e.,  "  to  every  cow  belongeth 
her  little  cow  (calf)". 

1  O'Curry's  MS.  Materials,  p.  321.  (Dublin  18G1). 


294  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

ST.  COLUMKILLE'S  PENANCE. 

This  decision  displeased  St.  Columkille,  who  had  in  addi- 
tion received  an  insult  from  the  king,  arising  out  of  the  death 
of  a  son  of  the  King  of  Connaught,  and  having  related  the 
whole  to  his  kinsmen  of  Tirconnell,  the  battle  of  Culdreime 
took  place  in  consequence.  It  was  in  sorrow  for  having 
brought  about  this  battle  that  St.  Molaisi  of  Devenish, 
passed  upon  St.  Columkille  the  penitential  sentence  to 
leave  Irelanol,  and  never  again  to  see  it !  St.  Columkille 
performed  his  penance  in  the  most  rigorous  manner, 
and  departed  forthwith  to  lona,  then  an  obscure  island, 
but  which,  from  his  presence  and  the  monastic  institution 
he  established  thereon,  soon  became  the  gloryof  Western 
Europe.1 

Dr.  J.  H.  Burton,  says — "  not  only  do  we  find  Saint 
Columba's  own  name  obtaining  an  influence  so  prevalent 
in  Scotland  as  to  outlive  the  Reformation  and  all  other 
ecclesiastical  revolutions,  but  many  other  Irishmen  who, 
either,  followers  or  fellow-labourers  of  his,  have  obtained  a 
permanent  hold  on  Scottish  local  nomenclature  and 
tradition".3 

The  copy  of  the  Psalter  called  the  Cathach,  from  the  Irish 
word  "cath",  a  battle,  was  preserved  with  great  veneration 
among  St.  Columkille's  kindred,  the  O'Donnells  of  Tir- 
connell. Hereditary  custodians  of  the  Cathach  were 
appointed  in  the  persons  of  the  Mac  Robartaighs  of  Bally- 
magrorty,  near  Donegal. 

The  present  casket,  cumdach,  or  covering  of  the  Cathach, 


1  O'Curry's  MS.  Materials,  p.  328-331. 
''  Hist.  Scotland,  by  J.  II.  Burton. 


THE   CATHACH.  295 

was  made  by  direction  of  Cathbarr  O'Donnell,  chief  of  the 
Clan-Connail  towards  the  close  of  the  eleventh  century ;  a 
record  still  partly  legible  in  Irish,  is  graven  on  three  sides 
on  the  margin,  of  the  under  silver  plate  of  the  casket — 


]uu  t>o 

11t>efui<yo  111  curncAcli  [f  A] 
1  *Oo  Siucfiiuc  uiAc  nieic  .Aet)A  t)o 
1  *Oo>Ooni[nAttJ  ITIAC  ^obA     llcAig  x>o  ConiAjtbA 
tAf  1  iroejuiAX) — i.e., 


"  Pray  for  Cathbarr  O'Donnell,  for  whom  this  casket 
was  made;  and  for  Sittric,  son  of  Mac  Aedha,  who  made 
it,  and  for  Donald  Mac  Robartaigh,  successor  [of  St. 
Colu  mba  as  abbot]  of  Kells  at  whose  house  it  was  made".1 

The  Annals  tell  of  an  engagement  in  1497,  between 
the  O'Donnell's  and  The  MacDermott,  when  the  Cathach, 
was  captured  by  the  latter,  and  its  custodian  McKoarty 
slain,  but  two  years  subsequently  it  was  regained  by  the 
O'Donnells. 

The  Cathach  was  preserved  in  the  church  of  Drumholme, 
as  we  learn  from  Colgan  "  ubi  illtid  celebre  reliquiariurn  S. 
Columba  quod  Cathach  appellatur'V 

Of  the  names  on  the  Cathach,  i.e. — Donald  Mac 
Robartaigh  or  O'Rafferty,  died  in  the  year  1098,  and 
Cathbarr  O'Donnell  died  in  the  year  1106.3 

1  Account  National  MSS.,  by  John  T.  Gilbert,  p.  8.  (London,  1884) 

2  Trias  Thaum,  p.  495  a.  n.  61. 

3  O'Curry's  MS.  Materials,  p.  331. 


296  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

CONTENTS. 

The  contents  of  the  Cathach  as  described  by  Sir  William 
Bethara,  by  whom  the  case  was  opened,  consisted  of  a 
wooden  box  very  much  decayed  enclosing  portion  of  a 
vellum  manuscript  of  the  Psabns,  that  originally  had 
evidently  been  stitched  together;  but  the  sewing  had 
altogether  disappeared.  On  one  side  was  a  thin  piece  of 
board  covered  with  red  leather,  it  was  so  much  injured  by 
damp  as  to  appear  almost  a  solid  mass ;  by  steeping  it  in  cold 
water  Betham  was  enabled  to  separate  the  membranes 
from  each  other,  and  by  pressing  each  separately  between 
blotting  paper  at  length  succeeded  iu  restoring  what  was 
not  actually  decayed  to  a  legible  state. 

The  MS.  had  originally  been  about  nine  inches  long  and 
six  inches  in  width.  It  had  received  the  greatest  injury  at 
the  beginning,  as  all  the  membranes  up  to  the  thirty-first 
psalm  are  gone,  and  the  few  first  of  those  which  remain  are 
much  decayed;  but  they  gradually  improve  till  the  last 
thirty  have  only  lost  their  first  and  last— or  top  and  bottom 
lines.  The  last  membrane  contains  the  first  thirteen  verses 
of  the  One  Hundred  and  Sixth  Psalm.  Betham  says  he 
collated  several  of  the  Psalms  with  the  Venetian  vulgate  and 
found  them  to  agree  almost  verbatim.  From  the  depth  of 
the  box  it  would  appear  as  if  it  had  been  prepared  for  receiv- 
ing the  whole  Psalter. 

Connel  O'Donnell,  brother  to  the  possessor  of  the  Cathach 
at  the  time,  along  with  Sir  Capel  Molyneux,  was  present 
when  its  contents  were  examined  by  Betham.1 

Betham's  Antiquarian  Researches,  vol.  i.,  p.p.  109-111. 


THE    CATHACH.  297 

THE   SHRINE. 

The  shrine,  or  covering  of  the  Cathach,  13  a  brass  box 
nine  and  a  half  inches  long,  eight  inches  broad,  and  two 
inches  thick ;  an  exact  representation  of  the  top — reduced 
in  size  —  appears  in  Betham's  Researches,  which  we  repro- 
duce ; l  it  consists  of  a  plate  of  silver  richly  gilt  and  chased, 
and  rivetted  to  one  of  brass.  This  plate  is  divided  into 
three  compartments,  or  rather  arches  of  the  Irish  form, 
supported  and  separated  by  clustered  columns.  In  the 
central  compartment  is  a  sitting  figure  supposed  by  Betham 
to  represent  St.  Colurnkille  with  hair  flowing  over  his 
shoulders,  holding  up  his  right  hand  as  in  the  act  of 
imparting  a  blessing ;  the  third  and  fourth  fingers  are 
folded  down,  in  his  left  hand  he  has  a  book  reclined  against 
his  breast ;  whilst  at  his  feet  is  a  square  in  the  form  of  a, 
Cumdach  or  case  that  originally  contained  some  relic  in 
the  space  beneath,  which  is  now  vacant.  The  arms  of  the 
chair  on  which  the  figure  is  seated  appears  with  carved 
grotesque  heads.  In  the  right  compartment  is  the  full 
length  figure  of  a  bishop,  clothed  in  pontificals  with  his 
mitre  on,  and  grasping  a  crozier  in  his  left  hand,  whilst 
his  right  is  raised  to  bless,  having  the  third  and  fourth 
lingers  likewise  folded.  In  the  third  compartment  is  a 
representation  of  the  crucifixion ;  with  a  glory  around  the 
head,  with  figures  of  the  two  Marys — one  on  each  side  of 
the  cross ;  above  the  arms  are  engraved  two  doves — these 
figures  are  chased  in  relief.  Over  the  right  arch  is  a  chased 
figure  of  an  angel  swinging  a  censer  or  thurible,  under 
which  is  engraved  the  figure  of  a  priest  holding  what 

11  Ibid,  plate  vii. 

38 


298 


INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 


Betham  describes  "as  something  like  a  basket",  but  what 
is  in  reality  a  chalice  held  in  his  right  hand  resting  on  a 
small  altar,  the  priest  is  fully  vested.  Above  this  is  a 
grotesque  figure  partaking  of  the  form  of  what  the  Ulster 
King  of  Arms  calls  "  a  wyvern  in  heraldry".  Over  the 


THE  CATHACH. 

left  arch  is  a  similar  figure  of  an  angel  with  a  censer,  above 
which  is  a  figure  like  a  vvyvern  with  a  human  face,  under- 
neath is  the  figure  of  a  griffin.  A  chased  border  about 
three  quarters  of  an  inch  in  width  proceeds  around  the 
whole  box ;  on  the  top  and  bottom  of  which  are  grotesque 
figures — wyverns,  cocatrices  or  lions,  whilst  on  the  sides 
are  representations  of  oak  leaves  and  acorns.  In  each  of 
the  corners  is  a  setting  of  rock  crystal,  in  the  centre,  at 
the  top  over  that  part  called  "the Tabernacle  "  by  Betham, 
is  another  crystal  settting  enclosed  by  ten  gems — a  pearl, 
three  small  shells,  a  sapphire,  and  amethysts — all  in  the 
rough.  Affixed  to  the  right  side,  near  the  top  of  the  box, 
suspended  by  a  curious  flexible  chain,  is  a  censer  on  which 
were  engraven  an  inscription  in  Gothic  characters,  but 
from  age  and  wear  has  been  so  defaced  as  not  to  be 
at  present  decipherable. 

Betham,  considered  the  silver-plate  just  described, 
although  very  ancient,  to  be  more  modern  than  the  sides 
and  other  parts  of  the  box,  to  which  he  also  considered  it  to 
be  inferior  in  workmanship.  The  brass-plate  to  which  it  is 
rivetted  is  perforated  with  regular  shaped  holes,  as  if  some 
ornaments  had  previously  been  fastened  to  it,  but  which 
serve  no  use  in  reference  to  the  present  plate. 

The  bottom  of  the  Cathach  is  of  brass  plated  with  silver 
exactly  like — to  speak  heraldicly — the  third  and  fourth 
quarters  of  Dimma'sbox  that  contained  ''  The  Boole  of Dimma^ 
now  in  the  Library  of  T.C.D.1  This  reliquary  also  contained 
a  copy  of  the  Evangelists,  the  story  of  how  they  were 
miraculously  written  is  given  by  Colgan," 

1  Gilbert's  National  MS.  p.  21. 

2  Ada  Sancttrum,  pp.  10  and  17. 


300  INIS-OWEN   AND  TIRCONNELL. 

The  Irish  inscription  round  the  ring  of  the  plate  of  the 
Cathach  as  given  by  Bethara,  differs  but  slightly  from 
O'Curry's  reading,  previously  quoted. 

The  sides  and  ends  of  the  Cathach  are  of  brass,  consisting 
of  eight  pieces  with  four  connecting  plates  in  the  form  of 
hinges. 

A  remarkable  feature  is  a  semi- circular  piece  of  wrought 
silver,  divided  into  four  compartments  by  three  ornamental 
silver  wire  pillars,  all  richly  gilt,  which  is  centrally  attached 
to  the  Cathach  on  the  front.  Betham  supposes  this  repre- 
sented the  tabernaculum  where  the  priest  deposited  the 
Host  on  the  altar.1  Respect  for  the  sacred  character 
attached  to  the  Cathach  by  the  O'Donnells,  is  increased 
when  it  is  seen  that  it  was  used  as  a  tabernacle,  in  the 
manner  that  the  Jews  in  their  journey  from  Egypt  used  the 
the  Tabernaculum  that  contained  the  Ark  of  the  Covenant. 
At  the  bottom  is  a  silver  plate  on  which  the  symbolical 
letters,  1.1l  .S.  are  engraved  and  richly  gilt  in  Irish  characters. 

Qn  the  right  of  the  tabernacle,  are  four,  and  on  the  left 
six,  oblong  compartments  divided  in  pairs,  one  above  the 
other  and  surrounded  by  silver  borders.  The  centre 
being  richly  inlaid  with  pure  gold  and  chased,  the  back 
is  likewise  divided  into  fourteen  compartments,  the  interior 
being  also  inlaid  with  gold  chasing,  the  gold  inlaying  of  two 
of  the  compartments  is  gone,  and  in  four  of  the  others  it  is 
injured.  The  four  outer  compartments,  were  plated  with 
silver  and  chased  artistically  into  forms  of  leaves  and 
flowers.  Between  each  pair  of  the  compartments  are  three 
silver  rivets  with  rounded  heads. 

Antiq,  Researches,  vol.  i.,  p.  115. 


THE  CATHACH.  301 

The  two  end  plates  have  been  richly  enamelled,  and  on 
which  is  a  silver  serpentine  pattern,  but  very  little  of  the 
enamel  now  remains.  At  each  of  the  four  corners  is  a 
hollow  pillar  by  which  the  top  of  the  box  was  fixed  to  the 
body  by  four  thick  pins  with  silver  heads,  contrived  so  that 
the  top  could  be  removed  at  pleasure. 

The  Cathach  is  different  in  this  respect  from  all  other 
Irish  reliquaries  of  a  similiar  kind,  the  purpose  for  which 
this  access  was  provided  would  we  believe  not  be,  as 
Betham  surmises,  "  to  get  at  the  MS"  but  as  a  place  for 
depositing  some  sacred  relic,  when  the  Cathach  was  carried 
into  battle  as  a  standard. 

Colgan,  writing  in  1647,  alludes  to  the  Cathach  as  being 
then  in  Tirconnell,  it  subsequently  came  into  the  possession 
of  Daniel  O'Donnell,  a  direct  descendant  of  Aodh,  brother  of 
Manus  O'Donnell,  chief  of  Tirconnell,  who  died  in  1563, 
by  whom  a  biography  of  St.  Columkille  had  been  compiled 
early  in  the  sixteenth  century. 

Colonel  Daniel  O'Donnell  raised  a  regiment  for  James  II., 
adhering  to  the  cause  of  his  king,  after  the  treaty  of 
Limerick,  he  entered  the  service  of  France,  where  he  dis- 
tinguished himself  from  Luzzara  to  Malplaquet. 

The  rank  of  brigadier  in  the  French  service  was  con- 
ferred on  Daniel  O'Donnell  in  1719.1  The  Cathach  went 
with  Brigadier  O'Donnell  to  the  Continent ;  and  in  1723,  he 
had  the  casket  repaired  providing  it  with  a  frame  case 
engraved  with  the  O'Donnell  arms  and  the  following  in- 
scription— 

"  Jacobo  3  M[agnae]  B[ritanniae]  Rege  exulante, 

1  Gilbert's  National  MSS.,  p.  9.    See  Inis-  Owen  and  Tirconnell  (1st 
series ;  chap.  xxvi. 


302  INIS-OWEN    AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Daniel  ODonel  In  Xtianisso.  Impo.  Praefectus 
Rei  Bellicae  Huiusce  Hoereditarii  Sti  Columbani 
Pignoris  Vulgo  Caah  Dicti  Tegmen  Argenteum  Vetustate 
Consumptum  Kestaurauit  Anno  Salutis  1723". 

Brigadier  O'Donnell  died  at  St.  Germain-en-Laye,  in 
1735,  without  issue,  and  by  his  will  directed  that  the 
Cathach  should  be  given  to  the  head  of  the  O'Donnell 
family  whenever  claimed. 

FOUND   IN  BELGIUM. 

The  Cathach  was  found  in  a  monastery  in  Belgium  by 
alate  abbot  of  Cong,  who  learning  of  the  nature  of  Brigadier 
O'Donnell's  will,  told  Sir  Neal  O'Donnell  about  it 
on  his  return  to  Ireland.  Sir  Neal,  who  believed  himself 
to  be  "The  O'Donnell",  applied  for  the  relic  through 
his  brother  Connell  then  in  Belgium,  who  succeeded  in 
obtaining  it  for  Sir  Neal,  though  Lewis  O'Donnell  of  Ross, 
(in  Mayo)  was  unquestionably  senior  to  Sir  Neal.1 

Connell,  during  the  short  peace  of  1802,  was  present 
when  Betham  opened  the  Cathach  after  its  arrival  in 
Ireland.  Mary  O'Donnell  relict  of  Sir  Neal  commenced 
proceedings  in  Chancery  against  Betham  for  having  opened 
the  Cathach  without  permission.  J.  J.  Gilbert,  F.R.S.,  has 
produced  unquestionable  testimony  on  most  of  the  National 
reliquaries  and  manuscripts  belonging  to  Ireland,  and  he  has 
presented  this  in  a  form  that  is  no  less  agreeable,  because 
of  its  truthfulness  and  Irish  sympathy.3 

1  O'Donovan's  Four  Masters,  p.  2400,  (Dublin,  1848). 
*  National  MSti.  of  Ireland,  (London,  1884).     Appendix  Fourth  Report 
of  Royal  Commission  on  Historical  MSS.  (London,  1874) 


THE   CATHACH.  303 

For  some  years  past  the  Cathach  and  its  casket  has  been 
deposited  in  the  Museum  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy, 
Dublin,  by  its  then  owner  Sir  Eichard  O'Donnell.  With 
his  permission  the  fac- similes  of  four  of  its  pages  are 
produced  by  Gilbert.1  On  the  decease  of  Sir  Richard  in 
1878,  the  Cathach  was  inherited  by  his  son  and  successor, 
Sir  George  O'Donnell,  Bart.,  recently  deceased. 

Whether  this  Psalter  is  that  which  was  begun  by  St. 
Colunikille,  just  before  his  death,  and  finished  by  St. 
Baithen  of  Taughboyne,  his  successor,  in  the  Abbacy  of  Hy, 
or  another  copy,  written  entirely  by  the  saint  himself — as 
it  is  mentioned  by  Adamnan,  he  had  transcribed  many  book« 
of  hymns — is  a  question  too  difficult  for  solution ;  but  that  it 
was  written  by  him  there  are  good  grounds  to  believe.2 

The  word  Cathach  is  interpreted  by  Colgan,  Praeliator,  a 
warrior  or  fighter.  Dr.  Reeves  also  gives  many  particulars 
connected  with  the  Cathach.3 

It  is  very  questionable  if  the  seated  figure  of  the  central 
compartment  of  the  Cathach,  was  ever  intended  to 
represent  St.  Colunikille,  as  stated  by  Betham.  The 
figure  of  the  saint,  as  it  appears  on  the  last  page  of  a  small 
quarto  manuscript  on  vellum,  of  the  early  part  of  the  ninth 
century,  preserved  in  the  library  of  St.  Gall,  represents  St. 
Columkille  in  the  attitude  of  prayer  with  raised  hauds  and 
tonsured  head,4  not  with  long  flowing  locks  descending 
about  the  shoulders,  as  the  seated  figure  appears  on  the 
Cathach. 

1  Fac-similes,  National  MSS.,  plates  iii.  and  iv. 

2  Betham's  Researches,  vol.  i,  p.  120. 
Reeves'  St.  Columba,  pp.  31D-320. 

4  Ibid,  plat«  5. 


304  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL 

The  figure  on  the  Cathach  was  probably  intended  to 
represent  the  Saviour,  and  the  figure  of  a  bishop  on  the 
right  was  likely  intended  to  represent  St.  Columkille; 
a  female  figure  in  the  act  of  supplication  appears  on  the 
bishop's  right  hand,  with  the  figure  of  a  dove  immediately 
over  her  raised  hands,  an  almost  obliterated  inscription, 
not  heretofore  referred  to,  may  be  seen  on  the  diminutive 
censer  attached  to  the  Cathach;  several  of  these  details 
appear  to  have  escaped  Betham's  observation. 


XXVII. 

.     (THE  MISSAGH). 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Irish  Academy  held  on  the  loth 
June,  1853,  Dr.  J.  Henthorn  Todd  exhibited  an  ancient 
reliquary,  formerly  held  in  great  veneration  in  Inis-Owen. 
It  was  named  the  Meeshac,  by  Vallancey,  who  says — "  Mr. 
O'Donnell  of  the  Barony  of  Inis-Owen,  informs  me,  there 
was  in  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bernard  of  Fahan,  a 
precious  box  set  with  stones  called  in  Irish  Meeshac,  a  word 
supposed  to  be  Hebrew  and  to  signfy  a  vow.  This  i* 
ornamented  with  a  crucifix  and  the  twelve  apostles".1 
Sir  William  Betham  gives  a  plate  representing  the  top  of 
the  Meeshac,  a  copy  of  which  is  here  reproduced,  following 
Vallancey  in  the  name,  he  says,  "  when  this  valuable  and 
venerable  relic  came  into  my  hands  it  had  all  the  appear- 

1  Collectanea  de  Rtbtis  Hibernicis,  by  Col.  Chas  Vallancey,  voL  iv.  pt.  2, 
p.  16  (Dublin,  1784). 


MIOSACH* 


305 


ance  of  having  long  been  in  a  damp  place  or  buried  in  the 
earth,  the  rich  tracery  work  of  the  settings  and  the  chased 
silver  plating  were  not  perceptible  from  the  thick  coating 
which  covered  its^surfacc".1 


1  Bethains  Irish  Anliy.  Kssearehes,\rol.  I  p.  213. 


39 


306  INIS-OWEN  AtfD 

O'Reilly,  author  of  an  Irish  Dictionary,1  did  not  believe 
Meesliac  to  be  an  Irish  word,  but  concluded  that  it  had  an 
equivalent  sound.  However  the  name  has  been  set  at  rest 
by  O'Curry,  who  says  the  tttopAch  was  one  of  the  three 
insignia  of  battle  which  Saint  Cairnech  of  Tuilen, 
now  Dulane  near  Kells,2  and  of  Clonleigh  [one  of 
the  principal  monasteries  under  Saint  Columbkill's  rule  in 
Ireland]  appointed  to  the  Cinel-Conell,  and  the  Cinel- 
Eoghan,  the  other  two  being  the  Cathach  and  the  Cloc 
Phatraic,  adding  that  "the  word  Miosach  means  literally 
"  Monthly",  or,  "  of  Months",  and  the  relic  was  probably 
a  calendar.3 

Dr.  Todd  stated  to  the  Academy,  that  the  attempt  made 
by  Vallancey  to  refer  the  word  Miosach  to  a  Hebrew  root 
was  groundless,  Mi  or  Mis  is  a  month  in  Irish,  and  Mai*e 
is  the  Irish  for  ornament.1 

Betham  has  slightly  erred  in  his  renderings  of  the  Irish 
inscription  that  is  engraven  on  the  case  of  the  Miosach,  he 
gives  his  reading  of  the  Irish,  and  translation  into  English, 
as  follows—  "  Brian  the  son  of  Brian  of  the  Sea  shore  of 
Moy,  covered  me  Anno  Domino  503  in  the  month  of  -  ".5 

The  inscription  appears  in  angular  Irish  characters, 
indicating  by  their  form  to  belong  to  about  the  last  of  the 
15th  or  beinnin  of  the  10th  centur. 


"Oo  cumtxM^  me  A°  nicccccoccocun. 

1  Irish,  English  Diet,  by  Edward  O'Reilly  (Dublin  1817). 

2  Colgan,  Ada  Sanctorum,  p.  782  c  2. 
8  O'Curry's  Ms.  Materials,  p.  33G. 

«  R.  I.  A.  vol.  5.  p.  4G4 

8  13etbaiu's  Anliy.  Hesearches,  rol.  i.,  p.  217. 


MIOSASH,  307 


"Brian  mac  Brian  O'Muirguissancoveredme  Anno  1534".1 
Dr.  Reeves  in  his  notice  of  the  Miosacli  gives  the  follow- 

ing, which  makes  a  slightly  different  rendering  to  that  given 

by  Dr.  Todd. 


111  AC  "jUAn  1  tTIU1|\51UAffA  t) 

me  <\,  t)0.  rn°ccccc°xxxiiii. 


"  Brian  son  of  Brian  O'Muirguissan  covered  me  Anno 
Domino  1534".2 

THE   INQUISITION,    1609. 

Apart  from  its  having  been  obtained  at  Fahan,  the  above 
inscription  at  once  connects  the  Miosarh  with  Inis-Owen. 
An  inquisition  was  held  at  Lirford  on  the  1  2th  September, 
1609,  in  the  reign  of  James,  I.  In  the  language  of  Sir  John 
Davies  then  the  king's  attorney-general,  among  other  things 
it  was  found  by  eighteen  jurors  present,  one  of  whom 
was  Donagh  O'Morison,  that  "  the  said  j  urors  doe  upon 
their  oathes,  further  say  that  in  the  said  baroney  is  the 
parishe  of  Clonnemanny,  conteyninge  in  the  whole  five 
ballibetaghs  and  a  halfe,  everie  ballibetaghe  consisteyne  of 
fewer  quarters,  whereof  there  are  six  quarters  of  church 
land,  and  that  of  the  said  six  quarters,  three  quarters  were 
given  in  Cullimkillies  tyme,  and  that  the  lord  busshop  of 
Deny  hath  and  receaveth,  in  right  of  his  busshopricke  out  of 
tooe  of  the  said  quarters,  such  and  the  like  rentes  propor- 
conable  as  out  of  the  herenagh  land  in  the  parishes  above 
menconed  and  [other  parishes  of  Inis-Owen]  that  the  third 

1  Proc.  R.  I.  A.,  vol.  5,  p.  4G5. 

2  Reeves'  St.  Columba,  p.  328,  and  Reeves'  Cohan's  Visitation  Diocese 
ofDerry,  p.  46  (Dublin,  1850). 


308  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

quarter,  named  Donally  is  free  to  Donnogh  O'Morreesen, 
who  is  the  abbots  corbe  and  the  busshop  of  Derrie's 
herenagh  of  those  three  quarters ;  and  the  said  jurrors  do 
further  say  uppon  their  oaths,  that  the  other  three  quarters 
of  the  said  six  quarters  church-land  were  given  by  the 
O'Doghertie's  and  O'Donnells  to  Columbkill  as  a  dedication 
towards  his  vestiments  when  he  went  to  warre  which  said 
three  quarters,  together  with  the  said  other  third  quarter 
£Dunally]  being  free,  were  given  to  the  ancestors  of  the 
said  Donagh  O'Morreeson,  who  in  those  daies  were  servants 
of  Colurakill  and  are  now  in  the  possession  of  Sir  Ralph 
Bingley  knight,  and  that  the  said  herenagh  paid  unto  the 
said  busshop  of  Deny  out  of  the  bisshops  thirds  of  the 
tiethes  of  the  said  landes  the  yearly  pencon  of  ten  shillings 
English,  and  was  antiently  accustomed  to  collect  all  the 
busshops  duties  throughout  the  whole  barony  of  Enisshowen 
and  they  also  say  that  in  the  said  parish  of  Clonnemanny 
there  is  both  a  parson  andviccar  presentative,  and  that  the 
tiethes  of  the  said  parishe  are  paid  in  kynde,  one  third 
parte  thereof  to  to  the  parson,  one  other  third  parte 
to  the  viccar  and  thother  third  parte  to  the  herenagh, 
and  that  they  are  to  repair  and  mainteyne  the  parish 
church  equallie  betwixt  them  as  before,  and  that  in 
the  said  parishe  are  six  gortes  of  glebe,  whereof  three 
gortes  belonge  to  the  viccar,  and  thother  fower  [three,  iinless 
Dunally  is  here  included  as  a  gort]  gortes  to  the  keeper  of 
the  MISSAGH,  or  ornaments1  left  by  Columbkille".2 

1  Dr.  Reeves  followed  thn  interpretation  that  the  Alissach  as  given  by 
Sir  John  Davys  as  "  ornaments  "  beincr  plural  of  ni<Mf  e-an  ornament,  and 
not  derived  as  the  form  of  the  word  would  indicate,  from  tnif  a  month. 
Life  of  St.  Columba,  p.  329. 

8  Inqui.  Rot.  Cane,  nib,  vol.  ii.  (Ultonia)  No.  v. 


MIOSACH.  309 

From  the  foregoing  extract,  it  appears  Donnogh 
O'Morreesen  belonged  to  the  Finead  Fine  Duthaig,  or 
hereditary  family,  and  was  the  Herenach,  or  representative 
steward  of  the  Bishop  of  Deny,  over  the  monastic  and 
church  lands  of  Clonmany,  having  a  share  in  the  property 
of  the  Fine,  or  family1  of  tenants  belonging  to  the  lands. 
At  this  time  the  keeper  of  the  Miosach,  the  descendant  of 
Brian  O'Morreesen  by  whom  it  was  covered  in  1534,  must 
have  been  Donagh  the  Grand  Juror  of  the  Inquisition  of 
1609,  and  most  probably  Brian's  grandson. 

Betham  has  been  unable  to  give  the  history  of  the  cir- 
cumstances whereby  the  Miosach  came  into  the  hands  of 
Dr.  Thomas  Bernard,  eldest  son  of  the  Protestant  Bishop 
of  Deny.  At  the  time  O'Donnell  informed  Vallancey,  the 
Miosach  was  then  in  the  hands  of  the  Rev.  Mr.  Bernard  of 
Fahan,  who  was  made  Dean  of  Deny  in  1769, 2  and  after- 
wards Bishop  of  Killaloe  and  Limerick,  where  he  died  in 
1806.  A  Rescript  from  Pope  Martin  V.  mentions  a  Melrach 
O1  Muirgiussan  as  late  perpetual  vicar  of  Fahan,  circa  1430. 
Prior  to  this,  at  the  date  of  Primate  Colton's  visitation  (1397), 
when  the  see  of  Deny  had  become  vacant  by  the  trans- 
lation of  Bishop  John  Dongan  in  1395,  to  the  See  of  Down, 
we  find  Magister  David  O'Morysan,  present  as  one  of  the 
members  of  the  chapter  of  Deny.3  Whether  the  Miosach, 
was  in  the  hands  of  one  of  the  O'Morysans  at  the  time 
Dr.  Bernard  became  its  possessor  is  uncertain ;  how- 
ever when  seen  by  Betham,  though  it  had  been  held  in 

1  W.  K.  Sullivan's  Intro.  Manners  and  Customs,  by  O'Curry,  vol.  1,  pp. 
577  and  583.  (Dublin,  1873.) 

2  Ordnance  Survey  of  Deny,  vol.  1 .  p  G9. 

3  Reeves'  Colton's  Visitation,  p.  45. 


310  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

great  veneration  he  states-  —"  when  it  came  into  the  hands 
of  those  who  had  more  curiosity  than  veneration  for  it  as  a 
religious  or  historical  relic,  it  was  very  injudiciously  and 
violently  opened,  much  injured,  and  possibly  its  contents 
demolished".1 

FROM  FAHAN   TO   KATHFARNHAM. 

After  Dr.  Bernard's  death,  the  Miosach  was  offered  for 
sale  along  with  his  library  in  Dublin,  but  such  was  the 
apathy  of  the  public  at  that  time — just  after  the  Union — to 
these  invaluable  relics  of  Irish  antiquity,  that  it  found  no  pur- 
chaser, and  was  bought  in  by  the  auctioneer  Mr.  Vallance, 
from  whom  it  passed  to  Mr.  John  Fleming  Jones,  auctioneer, 
who  sold  it  to  Sir  William  Betham.2  The  latter  presented 
it  to  a  former  Duke  of  Sussex,  at  whose  sale  in  London  it 
was  bought  by  Mr.  Rodd,  a  bookseller,  for  the  sum  of  £20. 
Sometime  after,  Mr.  Rodd  made  mention  of  it  to  the  late  Dr. 
Henthorn  Todd,  as  a  piece  of  antiquity  supposed  to  be  Irish. 
Dr.  Todd  at  once  recognized  it  as  the  Miosach,  and  he 
purchased  it  for  Lord  Adare,  late  Lord  Dunraven,  who 
presented  it  to  the  Protestant  College  of  Saint  Columba, 
Eathfarnham,  near  Dublin,  in  the  year  1843.3  Dr.  Petrie  in 
a  letter  giving  an  account  of  the  Miosach,  quotes  also  from 
an  ancient  historical  tale  called  The  Death  of  Muircertach 
Mac  Erca,  an  Irish  MS.  in  T.C.D.  that  has  been  translated, 
and  which  refers  the  Miosach,  to  St.  Cairnnech,  as  previously 
quoted  from  O'Curry.4 

1  Betham's  Researches,  vol.  1  p.  218. 

2  Betham's  Researches  vol.  i.,  p.  219. 

*  Proc.  R.I.A.,  vol.  5.,  Paper  by  Dr.  J.  H.  Todd,  pp.  461-466. 
4  Reeves'  Cohtmba,  p.  329. 


MTOSACH.  311 

BETHAM'S  DESCRIPTION. 

Be tli am  describes  the  box  or  case  of  the  Miosach  as  being 
ten  inches  long,  by  nine  inches  broad,  and  three  inches 
thick ;  from  each  side  is  a  kind  of  staple  on  which  is  a  ring 
with  a  swivel  attached  to  a  brass  chain  about  three  feet 
long,  which  he  supposed  may  have  been  used  to  suspend 
the  box  at  the  altar,  or  around  the  neck  of  the  person  who 
should  carry  the  reliquary  in  time  of  battle,  as  was  intended, 
when  bequeathed  by  St.  Caimech.  The  Miosach,  conver- 
sely to  the  Cathach,  consists  now  only  of  the  case,  the  MS. 
that,  no  doubt,  it  formerly  contained  is  gone.  The  sides  of 
this  box  are  brass  plates,  and  have  been  inlaid  with  silver 
and  enamelled  after  the  manner  of  the  Cathach.  The  bot- 
tom is  of  brass,  gilt,  cut  into  crosses  exactly  similar  to  the 
Cathach  in  pattern.  A  vacancy  was  left  on  one  of  the 
sides  for  the  insertion  of  the  MS.  The  wooden  case,  of 
which  the  outer  plates  are  but  covers,  was  cut  from  a  solid 
piece  of  yew  of  the  hardest  description  of  wood,  hollowed 
out  to  make  a  case  for  a  book,  open  on  one  side  like  that 
of  a  folded  map,  the  back  being  about  an  inch  and  a  half 
thick.  The  open  side  had  been  filled  up  with  a  piece  of 
oak,  the  whole  had  been  closed  by  a  brass  plate  like  that 
which  covered  the  other  side.1 

Betham  in  describing  the  ornaments  that  adorn  the  top 
of  the  Miosach,  says — "  The  twelve  figures,  which  have 
been  mistaken  for  the  twelve  apostles,  are  on  four  plates 
of  silver,  each  containing  three  figures,  and  are  repetitions 
of  each  other".2  This  can  be  at  once  observed  by  an  ex- 
amination of  the  engraving  prefixed  to  the  description. 

1  Betham's  Researches,  vol.  i..  p.  218. 

2  Hid,  p.  215. 


312  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

in  the  centre  of  each  of  the  four  groups  is  a  standing 
figure  of  a  bishop,  or  priest,  bearded  and  tonsured,  with 
head  uncovered,  holding  in  his  right-hand  a  crozier,  with 
his  left  hand  raised  in  benediction — with  what  Betham 
considers  a  remarkable  difference  that  the  third  and  fourth 
fingers  are  not  bent  down,  so  as  to  make  the  first  and 
second  fingers  with  the  thumb  represent  the  Trinity,  instead 
of  which  he  considers  that  the  whole  palm  and  hand  are 
exhibited — arid  says  the  thumb  is  placed  on  the  wrong  side 
of  the  hand.  This  description  of  Betham  appears  doubtful ; 
the  thumb  is  shewn  on  the  interior  of  the  left  hand,  where  it 
ought  to  be,  and  but  three  of  the  fingers  are  raised — on  the 
breast  of  this  central  figure  is  a  cross,  extending  over  the 
whole  front  of  the  vestment,  of  which  it  forms  a  part,  with 
the  collar  that  stands  up  about  the  neck  on  each  side,  the 
robe  beneath  hangs  down  in  folds  over  the  gown  in  front. 
The  head  or  crook  of  the  crozier  appears  as  if  ornamented 
and  set  with  precious  stones.  The  figure  on  the  right  is 
that  of  a  female  in  a  flowing  robe  treading  on  a  dragon. 

On  the  breast  of  the  female  figure  is  a  cross  surrounded 
by  a  circle,  below  which  is  a  figure  of  an  ornamented  book 
supported  by  her  left  hand.  In  her  right  hand  she  4; olds 
a  staff  on  the  top  of  which  is  a  cross. 

The  figure  on  the  left  is  that  of  a  mitred  abbot.  Betham 
says — "a  priest  in  a  sitting  posture  with  a  cap  on  Iiis  head 
shaped  like  a  mitre".  This  figure  has  a  cross  on  the  breast 
of  the  same  form  as  that  on  the  vestment  of  the  central 
figure,  he  holds  a  staff  in  his  right  hand,  surmounted  by  a 
cross,  with  his  left  hand  raised  in  benediction  in  a  similiar 
manner  to  that  of  the  central  figure,  his  legs  from  the  knees 
appear  to  be  bare  and  support  the  folds  of  his  garments, 


MIOSACH.  313 

behind  him  appears  two  human  faces,  one  on  each  side  of 
his  head. 

At  the  top  in  the  middle  of  the  plate  is  a  central  figure 
of  our  Saviour,  in  brass,  plated  with  silver,  •with  arms 
extended  as  in  the  crucifixion,  but  without  a  cross,  the 
figure  being  fixed  by  the  hands  and  feet  to  the  case  of  the  box 
ofthe  Miosach,ihe  head  and  left  h  and  projecting  to  the  top  of 
the  rim.  On  each  side  is  a  sitting  figure  of  the  Virgin, 
seated  under  a  canopy  wearing  a  three-pointed  crown, 
holding  on  her  knee,  embraced  by  her  left  hand  the  infant 
Jesus :  on  the  clothes  of  the  child  is  the  figure  of  a  triangle 
with  a  cross  surmounting  the  covering  of  the  head.  The 
right  hand  of  the  Virgin  is  elevated,  having  three  of  the 
fingers  raised  as  in  the  other  figures. 

There  are  eight  sets  of  polished  egg-shaped  rock  crystals 
on  the  plate,  the  largest  being  in  the  centre,  underneath  the 
figure  of  the  Saviour,  one  at  each  corner,  one  at  each  side, 
and  one  at  the  bottom.  Each  of  the  corner  settings,  and 
that  in  the  centre  had  around  them  small  settings  of  lapis 
luzuli  and  other  stones. 

Above  and  below  the  two  side  crystals  are  small  silver 
plates  with  a  figure  of  a  bearded  man,  his  rijjht  hand  ex- 

1  O  O 

tended  as  if  in  address,  with  his  left  across  his  body. 

Betham  suggests  they  may  have  been  intended  for  the  four 
Evangelists.  The  Irish  inscription  is  on  plates  of  silver 
in  relief  at  the  top  and  bottom  of  the  Miosach. 

Those  who  attempted  to  ascertain  the  contents  of  the 
Miosach  had  commenced  their  operations  at  the  back,  and 
after  breaking  the  brass  plate  across,  they  had  cut  away  the 
box,  and  broke  it  into  pieces  in  such  a  manner  that  Betham 
says  he  found  it  impossible  to  restore  it.  Very  long  brass 

40 


314  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

pins  had  been  driven  in  to  secure  the  plates,  which  if  the 
MS.  had  been  within  must  have  passed  through  it.  The 
workmanship  of  the  settings  is  described  as  remarkably 
good,  and  are  considered  as  belonging  to  a  more  recent 
date  than  the  plates  of  the  figures  which  they  partly  hide ; 
the  plates  of  themselves  cover  the  box  without  the  settings. 
The  same  remark  applies  to  the  Cathach  and  Dinimas  box. 
Under  the  central  setting  was  a  small  square  piece  ot 
vellum  on  which  was  a  seal  of  wax,  but  so  flattened,  as  to 
obliterate  the  impression  if  it  ever  had  one  on  it.1 

COLLECTOES   OF  DUES. 

The  O'Morresans,  as  keepers  of  the  Miosagh  and  collectors 
of  ecclesiastical  dues,  may  have  resided  in  the  vicinity  ot 
Fahan,  "  being  anciently  accustomed  to  collect  all  the 
bishop's  duties  throughout  the  whole  barony  of  Inis-Owen". 
O'Morreeson  in  the  inquisition  is  credited  with  rental  of 
20  pence  yearly  out  of  Cooly  near  Moville. 

TlciQMiosaih  may  therefore  have  been  one  of  the  numerous 
relics  of  Fahan-Mura,  mentioned  by  Colgan,  who  says — 
"  There  were  also  extant  there  until  recent  times  several 
reliques  of  St.  Muranus,  and  of  other  saints,  who  inhabited 
the  same  place,  but  how  much  of  them  have  escaped  from 
the  fury  of  the  heretics  and  may  have  been  preserved  to 
the  present  time  is  altogether  unknown  to  me  [then  he  adds, 
parenthetically,  exhibiting  a  feeling  remembrance  for  his 
native  hills]  (who  am  now  living  in  Belgium  at  a  great 

1  Betham's  Researches  vol.  1,  p.  217.  The  Book  of  Colum  Cille,  called 
the  Book  of  Durrow,  is  a  copy  of  the  New  Testament,  now  in  T.C.D.,  is 
said  to  have  been  written  about  £50,  by  St.  Columkille. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  BELLS.  315 

distance   from   my  native  land)  though  I  was  formerly 
intimately  acquainted  with  this  very  place".1 

The  Four  Masters  record  under  the  year  1516,  the 
death  of  the  herenagh,  Nial  O'Muirghesa.  0 'Donovan 
renders  this  name  into  O'Morrissy  ;  again  under  the  year 
1545,  the  Annals  record  the  death  of  Pierce  O'Muirgheasa, 
a  master  of  schools  and  general  lecturer  to  the  men  of 
Ireland,  a  man  who  had  performed  many  charitable  and 
pious  acts. 

The  name  of  Morresan,  or  O'Morrison  as  now  anglicized — 
is  of  frequent  occurrence  in  Inis-Owen.  Eev.  Edward 
Loughrey,  P.  P.,  Dungiven,  a  native  of  Clonmany,  informed 
the  Author  that  there  is  still  a  family  bearing  the  name  of 
Morrison  living  at  Straid  near  the  glebe  of  Clonmany, 
whose  ancestors  he  had  heard  were  Termoners.  The  name 
of  O'Morrison  was  also  traditionally  remembered  in  the 
vicinity  of  Fahan,  by  some  of  the  older  people  of  the  district, 
when  questioned  on  the  subject  by  the  writer. 


XXVIII. 
ECCLESIASTICAL  BELLS. 

Bells  are  known  under  the  Latin  names  of  Campanw, 
ATullcc,  and  Cloccoe,  Cloche  in  the  French  Language,  Clocc, 
or  Clug,  in  the  Irish,  and  by  Clag  in  the  Scotch  Gaelic. 

1  Ada  Sanctorum,  xii.  Martii,  p.  587,    O'Donovan's  MS.  translation, 
Ord,  Survey  Letters,  Buncranagh,  August  26th,  1835. 


316  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIECONNELL. 

The  art  of  casting  metal  in  a  mould  is  very  ancient. 
Before  the  time  of  the  Romans,  the  Jews  had  applied  the 
principle  to  bells.  But  with  them  the  tintinnabula,  and 
clock-bells  in  use,  were  of  small  dimensions.  To  the  Catholic 
Church  the  honour  is  due  of  having  considerably  increased 
their  use  and  dimensions. 

The  Church  consecrated  bells  to  the  service  of  religion, 
and  raising  them  between  earth  and  heaven,  caused  them  to 
give  expression  to  joy  and  sadness,  and  to  render  solemn 
homage  to  God.1 

The  bell  so  far  as  it  is  connected  with  religious  service,  is 
essentially  Catholic,  both  in  extension  and  invention. 
Religion  consecrated  it  by  a  particular  ritual,  thereby 
attaching  to  it  an  efficacious  virtue. 

The  erudite  and  critical  Jean  Baptiste  Thiers,  in  a 
dissertation  on  bells,  has  cleared  up  many  divergent  issues.2 
He  disputes  the  generally  accepted  theory  supported  by 
many  ancient  authors,  that  bells  had  their  origin  in  Italy, 
where  it  is  said,  they  were  invented  at  the  time  they  began 
to  be  named  after  the  city  of  Nola  in  Campagna.3 

Pierre  Messie,  a  Spanish  gentleman,4  says  that — "  Saint 
Paulin  was  the  first  who  introduced  into  his  church  and  epis- 

1  Dictionnaire  D'orftorerie  by  M.  L'abbe  Texier,  Tome  unique,  p.  390, 
Paris  1857. 

2  Trade,  des  Cloches,  Paris  (I781)et  Troisiemeet  Derniere  Endycloptdie 
Thtoloffique,  pp.  390-440,  Paris  (1856). 

3  Among  other  writers  are  the  following  who  ordinarily  give  to  the 
Italians  the  glory  of  the  invention  of  bells,  i.e,  Walafride  le  Louche  abbe 
de  llichenan,  Ausdine, Bishop  of  Havelbourg  in  Germany,  Honort,  priest 
of  the  Church  of  Autun,  Guillaume  Darand,  Bishop  of  Mande,  Binsfeld 
•uffragan  of  the  Archbishopric  of  Treves.    Jean  Funger  and  the  Pretident 
Selve. 

Ibid,  p.  392. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  BELLS.  317 

copal  residence  the  use  of  bells,  which  since  his  time  have 
been  used  by  every  Christian  people  as  a  necessary  adjunct", 
and  that  they  came  from  Nola,  the  Latin  equivalent  for  bell.1 
President  Duranti,  says  — "Campana,  a  bell,  is  named  after 
Campania,  an  Italian  province,  and  that  Nola  in  Campania 
is  the  place  where  they  were  first  fabricated."2 

Cardinal  du  Perron  and  M.  de  Pericard,  bishops  of 
Evreux,  also  support  the  belief  that  bells  were  invented  at 
Nola,  in  the  kingdom  of  Naples,  and  in  the  province 
afterwards  named  Campania,  from  whence  the  Latin  name 
for  bells,  is  derived  from  Nola  the  name  of  the  city.3 

M.  Grimaud,  Doctor  in  Theology,  of  Bordeaux,  also 
testifies  to  the  belief  in  Nola  of  Coinpania,  as  the  original 
place  of  invention,  which  he  has  set  out  in  a  Traite  des 
Cloches,  appended  to  the  end  of  his  Liturg.  Sacree. 

M.  Souchet,  Canon  of  Chartres,  says  the  same  in  his 
Observations  on  the  Life  of  Bernard  de  Tiron.* 

But  this  testimony  appears  not  to  have  satisfied  Thiers, 
and  he  gives  two  reasons  for  his  dissent.  First,  because} 
he  says,  bells  existed  a  long  time  before  they  were  used  in 
Italy,  and  he  instances  the  High  Priest  Aaron,  who  lived 
fifteen  hundred  years  before  our  Saviour,  "  who  had  grenades 
(pomegranates)  at  the  foot  of  his  robe  of  the  colour  of  the 
hyacinth,  trimmed  with  '  sonnettes',  small  golden  bells  that 
sounded  when  he  entered  into  and  departed  from  the 
sanctuary".5  These  small  bells  are  also  mentioned  in  the 

1  Divers,  lecons,  p.  2,  c.  9. 

2  De  ritibus  eccles.  (Livre  1,  c,  22,  Note  1). 

3  "  De  Campan.  instit.  usa  ac  benedict."  (§  4,  p.  4). 

4  (c.  8,  p.  177.) 

5  Exodus,  xxxviii,  33,  34  and  35. 


318  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Book  of  Ecclesiasticus,1  and  Josephus  describes  them  in  the 
antiquities  of  the  Jews,  as  small  hanging  tintinnabula,  or 
bells.2  Their  number  have  been  variously  stated,  Saint 
Prosper  estimating  them  at  fifty,  and  Saint  Jerome  at 
seventy-two,  Saint  Clement  of  Alexandria  believed  they 
were  more  numerous.  Thiers  quotes  at  full  length  from 
Saint  Cyrille  of  Alexandria,3  and  says  Nola  was  not  built 
till  770  years  before  the  Christian  era. 

Secondly,  he  says  the  orator  Cecilius,  who  lived  in  the 
time  of  Augustus,  employs  the  word  Nola,  not  for  a  bell, 
but  in  the  sense  of  a  loud-talking  woman. 

The  first  author  who  gives  Nola  as  the  equivalent  Latin 
for  bell,  is  the  Christian  poet  Eufus  Festus  Avienus,  who 
flourished  not  under  Diocletian  as  Crinitus  has  written,4  but 
under  Theodosius,  as  is  mentioned  by  Eamirez  de  Prado.5 

Here  is  what  is  said  of  a  dog  addicted  to  stealthily  biting, 
to  whom  his  master  had  attached  a  small  bell,  suspended 
from  his  neck,  to  the  end  that  those  he  passed  might  be 
on  their  guard. 

"  Hunc  dominus  ne  qucm  probitus  simulata  lateret 
Jusscrat  in  rabid o  gutture  ferre  nolam,  etc". 

(Ruf.  Fest.  AvienuSj  fabula,  7). 

1  (xlv,  10,  1 1 )  \_"  10.  lie  put  upon  him  a  garment  to  the  feet,  and 
breeches,  nnd  an  ephod,  and  he  encompassed  him  with  many  little  bells 
of  gold,  all  round  about1*.  11.  That  as  he  went  there  might  be  a  sound 
and  a  noise  made  that  might  be  heard  in  the  temple,  for  a  memorial  to 
the  children  of  his  people".] 

-  Antiquites  Judaiques,(L.  iii,  c  8,  n.  11.) 

3  "  De  adorat  in  Spir.  et  Verit".  p.  387. 

4  "  De,  poet  Latin"  (1  .  v.  c.  79.) 

5  Notts   in  adversar.  Luit  prand,  p.  401,  et  seq — et  Hallervord  (Bibliot 
curios,  p.  361.) 


ECCLESIASTICAL  BELLS.  319 

Thus  Nola  had  not  begun  to  signify  a  bell,  till  about  the 
end  of  the  fourth  century  after  Christ.  With  reference  to 
Campana,  though  St.  Isidore  of  Seville,  who  died  in  636, 
seems  to  have  spoken  of  it  as  an  ancient  word  ;  neverthe- 
less he  mentions  no  ancient  author  as  an  authority.  He 
says  that  in  the  life  of  St.  Leu,  Archbishop  of  Sens,  who 
lived  shortly  after  the  beginning  of  the  seventh  century, 
that  the  word  Campana  then  signified  a  bell.  It  is  men- 
tioned by  Surius,  who  is  stated  to  have  extracted  it  from  an 
ancient  missal  (from  the  service  set  apart  for  the  1st  Sep- 
tember), but  Surius  does  not  mention  the  date  of  the  MS. 

Strabo,  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Tiberius,  relates  a  history 
that  leaves  no  doubt  that  there  had  been  bells  before  his 
own  time ;  Pliny1  mentions  that  there  were  bells  attached  to 
the  summit  of  the  monument  raised  to  King  Porsenna, 
which  were  heard  from  a  distance  when  they  were  shaken 
by  the  wind. 

Juvenal2  said  of  a  babbling  woman,  that  when  she  spoke 
it- was  as  the  combined  sound  of  skillets  and  many  small 
bells. 

There  have  been  the  bells  of  Rome  from  the  time  01 
Martial,  that  marked  the  hours  at  which  the  public  baths 
were  opened. 

Buvelet,  on  the  discipline  of  the  Sacraments  of  the 
Church,  in  the  Instructions  on  the  Manual^  asks — "Has  the 
Church  had  always  a  service  of  bells  to  call  the  people  to 
sacrifice  ?  "  which  he  answers  in  these  terms  —  "  No,  for  from 
the  time  of  the  persecutions,  when  the  exercise  of  religion 

1  Pline  (Hist.  Nat.  L.,  xxxvi.,  c,  13.) 

2  Juv.  (Satyr.  G.) 

3  (p.  ii.,  c.  4,  and  §  3,  p.  240.) 


320  INNIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

was  interdicted  by  the  emperors,  and  Christians  had  no 
specified  time  or  place  for  their  assemblies ;  they  were 
commonly  noticed  by  a  clerk,  called  cursor,  set  apart  for 
this  duty,  who  went  from  house  to  house,  or  sometimes 
by  means  of  a  deacon". 

Saint  Paulin  himself,  though  he  has  given  a  description 
of  the  Church  of  Fondi,  that  he  had  built,  and  of  the 
different  things  by  which  the  Church  was  enriched,  he  does 
not  speak  of  belfries  or  of  bells.1 

Ursus  Patriciacus,  Doge  of  Venice,  gave  bells  to  the 
Emperor  Michael,  A.D.  865  ;  who  placed  them  on  the 
Church  of  St.  Sophia  of  Constantinople.  They  had  them 
also,  perhaps  after  this,  in  the  churches  of  Greece  and  the 
East.  It  was  not  before  the  time  of  Godfrey  de  Boullion 
that  bells  were  introduced  into  Jerusalem ;  and  these  were 
destroyed  by  Saladin.  Bells  were  not  used  in  the  Ottoman 
empire  after  the  taking  of  Constantinople  by  Mahomet  II., 
except  in  connection  with  striking  the  hours  on  clocks ; 
because  the  Turks  suffered  nothing  to  be  used  by  th* 
Christians  in  their  churches  by  which  they  were  to  assemble 
except  tables  of  wood  and  plates  of  iron  or  brass."2 

DEVELOPMENT. 

In  the  entire  absence  of  bells  of  that  date,  it  is  difficult 
to  determine,  whether  they  have  taken  their  development 
and  circular  form  from  the  seventh  or  ninth  century. 
An  example  of  the  circular  bell,  anterior  to  the  thirteenth 
century  is  not  known  to  exist  in  their  developed  form — M. 

1  (Epist.  12,  ad  sever.) 

8  Did.  D'orfevriree,  Chreiienne,  clmp.  iv.,  IK  40G. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  BELLS.  321 

Didron  has  published  particulars  of  a  bell  of  this  date  — or 
a  little  anterior,  representing  symbols  from  the  Evangelists.1 

The  one  there  represented  is  of  the  most  ancient  known 
design,  and  it  proves  the  talents  possessed  by  the 
founders,  though  its  small  dimensions  reduces  its  import- 
ance ;  only  three  bells  are  known  to  exist  of  so  early  a 
contemporary  date.  In  the  following  century  they  became 
more  numerous,  the  fifteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries 
exceed  the  other  centuries  by  the  numbers  that  were  cast; 
and  in  France,  this  abundance  is  explained  by  the  peace 
that  followed  the  expulsion  of  the  English,  when  religious 
sentiments  revived.  France  contains  more  than  thirty 
thousand  ancient  bells ;  many  have  been  recast — as  all 
bells,  up  to  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century,  are  classed 
under  the  name  of  "  ancient".2 

The  ancients  knew  perfectly  how  to  cast  in  bronze. 
The  alloy,  consisting  chiefly  of  copper  and  tin,  when  fused 
was  cast  into  the  hollowed  moulds  to  the  required  shape, 
herein  consisted  tlic  whole  process  of  bell-founding. 

It  was  only  by  experience  the  founder  learned  how  to 
estimate  what  value  should  be  attached  to  the  expansion  of 
the  metal  used.  By  increasing  the  height  and  diameter  of 
the  beiis,  in  progressively  ascertained  proportions,  sounds 
more  powerful,  and  tones  of  sweeter  note,  were  produced. 
The  facility  with  which  the  fused  metal  filled  the  shapes 
of  the  moulds, — its  adaptability  in  hardening  and  cooling, 
inspired  in  time  the  idea  of  casting  on  the  bells>,  figures, 
ornaments,  and  inscriptions. 

Bishop    Sebrand  Chabot,   gave  in  the  twelfth    century 

1  Annales  Arc/icologiques,  par  M.  Didron. 

2  D'orfdvreiie,  chap,  vi.,  p.  435. 

41 


322  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

(1187)  a  bell  to  the  Cathedral  of  Limoges,  that  bears  his 
name,  as  is  indicated  by  an  inscription  cast  on  the  metal— 

"Me  dedit  antistes  Sebrandes et est  rnihi nomen". 

It  is  difficult  to  give  dates  to  bells  cast  previous  to  the 
fourteenth  century,  as  they  invariably  have  none,  and  rarely 
do  they  bear  any  founder's  marks.  During  the  fourteenth 
and  fifteenth  centuries,  they  have  shields,  lettering,  and 
architectural  distinctions,  that  enable  in  most  cases  correct 
estimates  of  their  dates  to  be  formed.1 

The  earliest  known  dated  bell  is  at  Friburgh  in  the  Black 
Forest,  dated  A.D.  1258,2  On  the  Campanile  at  Pisa  are 
two,  dated  126I5.3  Early  bells  with  elaborate  inscriptions 
exist,  particularly  one  at  Goring,  Oxon,  that  is  almost 
certainly  not  later  than  12 90.1 

The  distinctive  marks  of  thirteenth  century  bells,  are, 
their  lengthy  appearance,  or,  as  they  termed  by  Campano- 
logists, long  waisted,  with  short  inscriptions  widely  spaced 
out,  so  as  to  occupy  the  whole  length  of  the  inscription  band, 
The  character  of  the  inscriptions  are  simple,  such  as 
"  +  Johannes'1,  or  "  +  Ave  Maria" — an  initial  -f-  always 
taking  precedence  of  the  lettering,  which  consists  of  round 
Gothic  capitals,  or  uncials  of  "  the  Northern  Byzantine  style 
which  developed  into  the  Gothic  or  mediaeval"  about  this 
time,5  and  the  absence  of  all  floriated  devices  surrounding 
the  letters. 

1  fillacombe'sbells,?.  0,  Exeter  (1872). 

2  Tyssen's,  Chtrch  bells  of  Sussex,  p  3. 

3  Notes  and  Queries,  3  S.  viii,  p.  173. 

4  Church  Br-Us  of  Kent,  by  J.  C.  L.  Stahlsclmrit,  p.  5,  London  (1887) 
6  Early  Christian  Symbolism,  by  J.  Eouiily  Allen,  p.  11,  London  (1887) 


ECCLESIASTICAL  BELLS.  323 

Previous  to  the  thirteenth  century  the  inscriptions 
appear  to  have  been  cut,  or  chased,  on  the  coating  of  the 
bell. 

On  the  fourteenth  century  bells,  the  inscriptions  are  in- 
corporated with  the  casting,  which  gives  to  those  of  this 
period  more  distinct  and  clearer  results.  The  mould  then 
used  by  the  founders,  enabled  them  to  execute  on  the  outer 
circle  of  the  bell,  selected  figures,  such  as  that  of  our 
Saviour,  saints,  and  more  numerous  lettering. 

These  prints  on  the  circle  were  pressed  from  the  cope,  or 
covering,  that  formed  the  lining  of  the  exterior  of  the 
mould.  The  fused  metal,  flowing  into  the  cavity  prepared 
for  its  reception,  between  the  interior  core  and  the  outer 
cope,  the  bronze  adapting  itself  to  all  the  required  details. 
Profiting  by  the  experience  gained  by  the  fourteenth 
century,  founders  were  enabled  to  inscribe  on  their  bells 
short  prayers,  such  as  Te  Deum  Laudamus,  Sancte  Paule, 
Sancte  Pelve,  or  an  invocation  to  the  Virgin,  adding  gone- 
rally  an  Ora  pro  nobis. 

The  style  of  the  lettering  during  the  first  half  of  the 
fourteenth  century  was  still  round  Gothic,  and  the  light 
blooming  floriations,  by  which  they  were  accompanied 
gave  to  the  letters  a  graceful  appearance.  During  the 
second  half  of  the  fourteenth  century,  the  small  type  square 
Gothic  alphabet  took  the  place  of  the  preceding.  But 
patterns  furnished  from  ordinary  inscriptions,  reproduced 
from  rubbings,  cannot  give  a  correct  idea  of  the  original 
grace  with  which  the  flowering  reliefs,  so  highly  finished, 
and  artistically  light,  twine  around  each  letter.1 

lDiclionnaireD'orftorerievax  M.  1  'Abb^Texier,  p.  437,  Paris  (1866) 


324  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

The  founders  of  the  fifteenth  century  used  the  same 
decorations  to  ornament  their  lettering,  and  added  reliefs 
representing  the  Crucifixion,  the  Agnus  dei,  the  Ecce  homo, 
and  various  saints,  figures  of  patrons  begin  to  appear  in 
the  architectural  framing,  and  garlands  of  flowers  run 
around  the  bells. 

The  inscriptions  become  in  many  cases  longer,  with  the 
rank  and  name  of  their  patrons,  and  frequently  the  founder's 
name  are  added.  Bells  of  this  date  are  numerous,  and 
afford  examples  of  well  executed  workmanship.1 

Black  letters,  or  German  text,  came  into  use  about  A.D. 
1390,  and  the  two  styles  of  lettering  prevailed  side  by  side 
for  about  twenty  years.  Inscriptions  in  capitals  again 
appeared  in  the  second  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century, 
but  they  are  readily  distinguished  from  the  earlier 
Lombardic  by  the  absence  of  stops. 

Stops  were  invariably  used  in  connection  with  all  the 
Lombardic  inscriptions.  The  earliest  consisting  of  two  and 
sometimes  three  dots,  roundels,  or  diamonds,  placed  verti- 
cally, and  sometimes  developed  into  more  elaborate  combi- 
nations, fleurs-de-lis,  crowns,  leaves,  and  other  variations  are 
found  on  the  latter  bells.2 

Foundry  stamps  are  rare  in  the  Lombardic  bells,  and  only 
came  into  use  in  the  beginning  of  the  fifteenth  century, 
assignments  to  their  respective  owners  being  one  of  the 
great  difficulties  of  campanists.  Initial  crosses  are  fre- 
quently of  assistance  in  determining  the  authorship  of  a 
bell. 

Since  1570  bells  are  almost  as  invariably  dated  as  before 

1  Ibid,  p.  437. 

3  Church  Bells  o/7ien/,pp.  6-6. 


ECCLESIASTICAL   BELLS.  325 

that  time  they  were  undated.  The  number  of  bells  cast 
previous  to  1600  (all  bells  before  or  of  that  date  are 
reckoned  among  the  ancients)  found  scattered  over  the 
Continent  and  in  England,  are  numerous,  in  France  alone 
as  many  as  thirty-thousand  exist,  but  in  England,  after  1600, 
nearly  all  interest  in  inscriptions  ceases;  the  names  of  the 
parson  and  church-wardens  occupy  the  place  of  the  Agnus  Dei 
and  the  Orapro  nobis  of  the  older  bells.  The  inscriptions 
became  often  vulgar,  some  most  irreverent,  others  frivolous 
and  impious.1 

Bells  were  in  use  in  Ireland  from  the  first  introduction 
of  Christianity.2  In  the  Life  of  Columba,  by  Adamnan,  he 
makes  iise  of  the  expression  Cloccam  pulsa  which  striking 
of  the  bell,  collected  the  brothers  to  the  church  for  religious 
worship.3  In  the  eighth  century  the  celebrated  Inis-Owen 
canonist,  Fothadh-na-Canoine,  ofFahan-Mura,  calls  a  bell  by 
the  Irish  name  "  Cttnc".4 

The  quadrangular  shaped  bell,  represented  on  the  remnant 
of  a  triangular  pedimented  lintel  at  Glendalough,  Dr. 
Petrie  declares  to  be  of  the  peculiar  form  that  charac- 
terizes all  the  consecrated  bells,  preserved  in  Ireland,  and 
which  had  belonged  to  several  celebrated  Irish  saints  ot 
the  Irish  Church.  There  is  every  reason  to  believe  that 
previously  to  the  twelfth  century  this  quadrangular  form 
gave  place  to  the  circular  one  HOAV  in  use. 

"We  see  a  remarkable  example  of  transition  to  the  later 
form  in  a  bell  in  the  collection  belonging  to  the  Irish 

1  Ellaconibe's  Bells  of  Devon,  p.  8,  Exeter  (1872.) 

*  Petrie's  Ecd.  Architecture  of  Ireland,  pp.  32-389,  Dublin,  1845. 

3  Lib.  1,  cap.  8. 

4  Poem  in  Book  of  Leinster,  R.I.A. 


326  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL, 

Academy,  now  in  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art ;  an 
inscription  in  the  Irish  character  clearly  carved  upon  it 
shows  it  to  be  of  the  age  of  the  ninth  century".1 

In  the  first  series  of  Inis-Owen  and  Tirconnell,  we  stated 
that  the  Sancta  Maria,  Ora  pro  nolis  bell,  of  Donagh, 
claimed  a  separate  notice.2  Since,  a  paper  read  by  the 
Author,  at  a  meeting  of  the  Koyal  Irish  Academy,  has 
partly  dealt  with  the  subject.3  In  order,  if  possible,  to 
enable  us  to  ascertain  the  dale  of  the  Donagh  bell,  the 
principal  works  written  on  the  subject  of  bells,  within  our 
reach,  were  examined.  In  this  chapter  on  "  Ecclesiastical 
bells",  we  submit  the  result  of  our  investigation.  In  the 
absence  of  any  proof  to  the  contrary,  we  are  sufficiently 
convinced,  that  the  undated  bell  on  the  Protestant  church 
of  Carndonagh  bears  all  the  marks,  that  are  accepted  by 
Campanologists,  that  go  to  classify  church  bells  that  were 
cast  in  the  sixteenth  century. 


XXIX. 

DONEGAL    BELLS. 

Inis-Owen  and  Tirconnellhave  been  the  home  and  store- 
house of  many  objects  of  antiquarian  interest. 

1  Petrie's  Eccl.  Archl.,  p.  252. 

8  /.  and  T.t  p.  47. 

*  Proceedings  fi.I  A.,  3rd  ser.,  vol,,  ii.,  pp.  100—104. 


DONEGAL   BELLS.  327 

Among  the  ancient  ecclesiastical  relics  that  have  escaped 
the  "  despoiling  hand  of  time",  none  are  more  generally 
interesting  than  the  Irish  cLocc. 

Many  of  these  venerated  remains,  illustrative  of  the  art 
and  civilization  of  ancient  Ireland,  are  yet  preserved — 
cither  in  public  museums  or  in  private  collections  scattered 
throughout  Britain  and  Ireland. 

Ctog  or  Ctocc,  the  Irish  word  for  bell,  is  analogous  to 
the  French  cloche ;  the  latter  having  been  probably  derived 
from  the  name  used  by  the  Irish  missionaries. 

Ecclesiastical  bells  have  been  in  use  in  Ireland  since  the 
time  of  St.  Patrick,  of  this  we  have  distinct  references 
made  in  the  Irish  annals,  notably  in  the  Book  of  Fenagli.^ 

The  early  Irish  bells  were  chiefly  hand  or  portable  bells, 
quadrangular  in  form,  and  narrowing  to  a  convex  top  by 
sloping  sides.  Numerous  examples  of  Irish  belh  exist  in 
the  collections  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  Edinburgh 
Museum,  and  British  Museum. 

THE    TORY    BELL. 

The  Irish  Round  Towers  have  been  called  ctAigce^c  or 
belfries  ;  and  O'Donovan  referring  to  the  round  tower  on 
Tory  Island,  says — Donnell  MacRory,  a  native  of  the 
island,  gays  "  ]une  Colum  Citte  e  ie  IIA^AVO  cling 
•Agu^p  -oeijA  -pAt)  jU]A  ClogbeAj  At>i  HA  l3Aj\ji,  i.e.,  ''  Colum- 
cille  built  this  lor  a  bell,  and  it  is  said  (they  say)  that  it 
was  a  small  bell  was  on  the  top  of  it".  This  bell  is  said  to 

1  See  D.  II.  Kelly  and  W.  M.  Ilennessy's  translation  of  the  Book  of 
Ftnagh,  pp.  HI,  233-245  (Dublin,  1875.) 


328  TNIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL.7  . 

have  been  stolen  out  of  the  top  of   the  Cl<M^-ceAc  by  a 
pedlar,  but  no  one  knows  where  it  is  now.1 


THE  GARTAN  BELL. 

The  bell  of  Saint  Gall,  the  Irish  missionary  to 
Switzerland,  who  died  about  647,  is  to  be  seen  at  the 
monastery  of  the  city  that  bears  his  name.2 

The  uses  to  which  these  bells  were  applied  arc  stated 
by  Adamnan.  It  is  related  of  St.  Columkille  that  he 
addressed  his  companion  Diarmuid — with  the  words, 
"  Cloccam  pulsa" — "  Strike  the  bell".  The  brethren  of  lona 
hearing  the  sound  proceeded  quickly  to  the  church,  preceded 
by  the  holy  prelate  himself,  who  "  ad  quos  ibidem  ilexis 
genibusinfit."  There  he  began  on  bended  knees  to  address 
them. — "  Let  us  pray  earnestly  to  the  Lord  for  Aidan  and 
his  people".3 

The  Gartan  bell,  like  most  of  the  Irish  bells,  had  been 
preserved  in  a  family  belonging  to  the  district,  having  been 
handed  down  as  a  precious  relic  from  time  immemorial, 
till  the  famine  year,  when  the  family  of  the  keeper 
when  emigrating  to  America  in  1847,  sold  it.  The  person 
who  bought  it  resold  it  to  the  Rev.  Mr.  Rcade,  Rector 
of  Inishkeen,  for  the  sum  of  three  pounds.4 

The  Gartan  bell  has  an  inside  lining  of  iron  consisting 
of  four  plates,  placed  there  to  keep  the  brass  or  bronze 

1  O'Donovan's  Ordnance  Survey  Letters,  R.I. A.,  Co.  Donegal,  Cross 
Roads,  Sept.  15,  1835. 

2  Vitce  Sctncti  Columlce,  by  Dr.  Reeves,  p.  34. 

3  Ibid,  pp.  33-34. 

1  Kilkenny  Arch.  Soc.  Trans,  vol.  v.  part  I.  p.  CG. 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  329 

coating  together,  the  fastening  rivets  are  of  bronze.  This 
bell  is  larger  than  some  of  those  used  at  an  early  date,  being 
eight  inches  in  height  exclusive  of  the  handle,  which  is  of 
iron  fastened  into  the  convex  top,  where  it  is  about  four 
inches  broad  on  its  widest  side.  The  mouth  is  nearly 
square,  being  seven  and  three  quarter  inches  by  seven 
inches.  A  representation  of  this  bell  from  a  photograph 
supplied  by  the  owner  is  given  by  the  late  Rev.  H.  T. 
Ellacombe,  from  whose  work  these  particulars  have  been 
obtained.1 

Another  Saint  Columkille  bell,  formerly  in  the 
collection  of  the  late  Mr.  John  Bell,  of  Dungannon, 
is  now  in  the  Museum  of  National  Antiquities  in  Edin- 
burgh, with  nine  others  of  the  same  collection,  one  of  which 
was  obtained  from  Loch  Dearg.2 

Till}    BELL    OF    SAINT    EKNAN    OF    DRTJMIIOLM. 

A  fine  example  of  an  ancient  bronze  bell,  with  three 
finger  holes  in  the  handle  was  in  the  possession  of  Mr. 
Chichester  Hamilton  of  Red  House,  Ardee,  Co.  Louth.  It 
was  found  in  a  field  in  the  parish  of  Drumholm,  in  the 
in  the  year  1840.  It  is  also  a  quadrangular  bell,  be  in  2* 
eleven  inches  in  height  and  eight  inches  by  three  at  thu 
mouth.3  Drumholm,  the  ancient  Druim-Thauma,  was  the 
site  of  one  of  the  churches  dedicated  in  Tirconnell  to  Saint 
Adamnan,4  and  Saint  Columkille/'  Colgan  to  whom  all 

1  Ellacomle^  Bells,  pp.  339-340. 

2  Ibid,  p.  342. 

3  Tfcirf.p.  34G. 

4  O'lJonovaifs  Translation  of  O'Clert/s  Calendar,  p.  255. 
8  Ibid,?.  151. 

42 


330  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

writers  on  identification  of  ancient  sites  in  Ireland  are  in- 
debted, says  "  Dorsum  Thomse,  was  formerly  a  celebrated 
monastery,  now  called  Drumholme  in  Tyrhugh".  Here  he 
places  Saint  Ernan  or  Ferreolus,  of  whom  he  says  "  he  was 
buried  in  this  monastery".  This  bell  belonged  to  the 
monastery  and  church  of  Saint  Ernan,  a  full  account  of 
Drumholm  is  given  in  the  Hlonasticon.1 

The  name  of  Saint  Ernan,  like  many  other  Irish  saints, 
has  undergone  changes  by  prefixes  and  postfixes;  Saint 
Adamnan  Latinizes  the  name  into  Ferreolus,  the  original  Irish 
name  being  1<j^n<Mi,  a  pagan  name,  equivalent  for  a  man  of 
iron  frame  and  mind.-  His  death  is  recorded  as  occurring 
on  the  first  January,  G 10. 

THE   AILEACH   BELL. 

The  "Bell  of  St.  Patrick's  Will'',  or  CUrg-An-etJACCA- 
p1iAC|\Aic,  is  mentioned  in  the  Annals  of  Ulster,  as  early  as 
552. 

It  has  a  quadrangular  form,  being  composed  of  two 
pieces  of  hammered  iron,  b raxed  and  rivetted  together, 
nine  and  a  half  inches  in  height,  five  by  four  inches  at 
the  mouth,  and  produces  when  struck  by  its  iron  clapper 
a  dull  and  solemn  tone.  Dr.  Stuart  describes  it  as  a  "  curious 
relic  of  antiquity".3 

Donald  O'Lochlan,  King  of  Aileach  Neid,  the  ancient 
seat  of  the  northern  kings  of  Ireland,  now  known  as  the 
Greenan  of  Aileach,  in  Inis-Owcn,  in  the  year  1092,  gave 

1  Monasticon,  by  Card.  Moran,  Article  by  Dr.  John  McDevitt,  p.  189. 
*  O'Donovan's  Letters,  R.l.A  ,  Petigo,  October  28th,  1835. 
3  Hist.  Memoirs  of  City  of  Armagh,  by  James  Stuart,  A.B.,  pp.  vii.  to 
x.  (Newry,  181'j.) 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  331 

this  relic  to  his  friend  Donald  AlacAmalgaid  or  MacAule y, 
who  succeeded  in  that  year  to  the  See  of  Armagh, 
O'Donovan  calls  it  Clog-Udhachta-Phadraig,  or  the  bell  of 
St.  Patrick's  Testament.1 

Dr.  Reeves  gives  the  history  of  this  bell,  so  far  as  it  has 
been  ascertained;  dealing  chiefly  with  references  made  to 
it  in  the  Irish  Annals,  and  to  a  faculty  granted  in  1441  by 
Primate  Prene  to  the  head  of  the  family  of  Maolchallan 
O'Mullen  or  O'Mulhollen  of  Loughinsholiii,  who  are  men- 
tioned as  custodians  of  this  venerated  relic,  from  the  eleventh 
to  the  nineteenth  century.  It  remained  generation  after 
generation  in  the  keeping  of  this  family,  till  the  death  of 
its  last  keeper  in  the  direct  line,  Henry  Mulhollan  of  Eden- 
duffcarrick,  on  the  confines  of  Drummaul  and  Antrim 
parishes.2 

Dr.  Stuart  describes  thecoverby  which  the  bell  is  adorned, 
as  unique  of  its  kind,  being  enriched  with  many  ornaments 
in  various  metals,  partaking  throughout  in  their  manufacture 
and  workmanship,  of  that  character  so  essentially  distinctive 
of  early  Irish  art. 

The  inscription  on  the  shrine,  which  is  remarkable  for 
its  beauiv  ard  antiquity,  places  the  date  of  its  manufacture 
between  the  years  ]077  and  109 1.1 

Dr.  Reeves,  in  "  an  elegant  folio  fasciculus  descriptive 
of  the  bell  and  shrine  of  St.  Patrick",4  gives  the  Irish  in- 

1  Ann.  Four  Masters  (vol.  2,  1651  edition),  p.  8-1G.  Note  //,  under  year 
1044. 

•  Ecel.  Antiq.  Down  and  Connor,  by  Eev.  W.  Keeves,  pp.  3G9 — 375, 
Dublin,  1817. 

*  Keel.  Antiq.  Down  and  Connor,  p.  o71. 

4  St.  PatricfSs  Bell,  5  Chromo  Litho,  by  K-ov.  W.  Reeves,  Belfast,  1850. 
Ellacombe's  JJells,  p.  35;). 


332  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

scription  that  occupies  the  margin  of  one  of  the  faces  of 
the  shrine  —  a  copy  of  the  Irish  and  its  equivalent  Latin,  is 
given  in  his  Eccl.  A?itiq.1 

"  O^A  -oo  'OorrmAl'l  11*  IxxchlAuro  lAf  1  ti-t>ennA'o  m  cloc 
f  A,  ocuf  t)o  *OomiiAfL  choniAfibA  ptiACfiAic  ico  n-t>e|«iAt>, 
ocuf  t)o(t))c1iAt:1iAtAti  t)o  iriAejA  in  U 
chUnc,  ocuf  t»o  Chotroulij;  Hi  nm&men  co  TIA  m 


Translated  into  English,  the  inscription  "  asks  for  a 
prayer  for  Donnell  O'Loughlin  (King  of  Aileach)  at 
whose  direction  the  bell  (shrine)  was  made,  and  for  Donnell 
(MacAulay)  the  successor  of  St.  Patrick  (Archbishop  of 
Armagh)  with  whom  it  was  made  ;  and  for  Cahalan 
O'Mealchalland,  its  keeper,  and  for  Chondulig  O'Meenan 
along  with  his  sons  who  covered  it". 

Engravings  of  the  bell  and  shrine  with  Dr.  Stuart  and 
Dr.  Reeves  description,  are  given  by  Ellacombe".2 

This  ancient  Irish  relic  is  now  in  the  collection  belonging 
to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  preserved  in  the  Museum  of 
Science  and  Art,  Kildare  St.,  Dublin. 

A  very  early  quadrangular  bell,  with  one  of  its  sides 
much  worn  from  the  effects  of  age,  was  a  few  years  ago  in 
the  possession  of  John  Trcdennick,  Esq.,  of  Camlen  near 
Ballyshannon.  It  had  been  found  near  the  ruins  of  an 
ancient  church  in  that  district,  a  woodcut  of  this  bell  is 
given  by  Ellacombe.3 

1  Eccl.  Antiq.,  p.  371. 

2  Kllacombe's  Bells,  pp.  353—359. 

3  Ellacoinbe's  Bells  of  Devon,  pp.  3G9-372. 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  333 

do 5 A  chottmncViiVle. 

Among  the  bells  dedicated  to  Saint  Columkille,  there  are 
in  the  Museum  of  Scottish  Antiquities,  one  from  the  collec- 
tion of  the  late  Mr.  John  Bell  of  Dungannon,  that  had  formerly 
been  held  in  the  highest  veneration.  It  bore  the  name  of 
the  "  "OiA  'Oio^'liA'luu-p",  or  the  bell  of"  God's  vengeance", 
in  allusion  to  the  sacred  character  imparted  to  any  solemn 
asservation  taken  thereon.  It  had  been  in  the  keeping  of 
a  family  of  the  McGurks,  from  which  Terraon  Maguirk  in 
the  County  Tyrone  derives  its  name,  and  in  whose  custody 
it  was  preserved  for  many  generations.  This  bell  is  eleven 
and  three  quarter  inches  in  height,  of  the  form  of  all 
the  early  Irish  bells,  but  very  much  worn,  on  one  side,  a 
representation  is  given  by  Ellacombe,  with  a  description,1 
which  is  also  given  by  Dr.  Wilson.2 

There  is  an  ancient  small  bronze  bell,  of  circular  form  in 
the  Museum  of  St.  Columba's  College,  Eathfarnham,  near 
Dublin. 

THE    BELL    OF    SAINT    MURA. 


The  bell  of  Saint  Mura  of  Fahan  is  as  remarkable  as  any 
of  the  ancient  Irish  bells,  not  alone  for  its  antiquity,  but  as 
a  splendid  specimen  of  early  Irish  art. 

For  centuries  the  bell  of  St.  Mura,  remained  within  the 
parish  of  Fahan,  till  the  famine  years,  which  were  so  destruc* 

1  Ibid,  p.  319. 

2  Wilson's  Prehistoric  Annals  of  Scotland,  p.  654. 


334 


INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 


tive  in  Ireland,  and  which  caused  the  breaking  up  of  many  of 
the  old  Celtic  families.  About  the  year  1849  its  last  possessor 
there,  sold  it,  when  it  passed  into  the  possession  of  John 
McClelland,  junior,  of  Dungannon,  who  sent  it  to  be  ex- 
hibited during  the  meeting  of  the  British  Association  held 


SAINT  Muiu'a  BELL  (of  Fahan  Mura.) 


DONEGAL   BELLS.  335 

at  Belfast  in  1 852.  From  a  descriptive  paper  communicated 
by  that  gentleman1  accompanied  by  full  size  lithographs, 
from  which  we  reproduce  copies,  we  learn  that  the  material 
of  the  bell  is  of  bronze,  cast  in  the  early  and  quadrangular 
form.  The  shrine,  in  which  the  bell  is  encased,  is  supposed 
to  have  received  its  first  ornamentation  in  the  ninth 
century.  The  tracery  of  this  early  decoration  is  a  series  of 
Celtic  intertwined  knots,  wrought  in  brass,  and  firmly 
attached  to  the  bell  itself,  by  a  thin  plate  of  gold,  thus  mark- 
ing the  veneration  in  which  the  bell  was  held.  The  last  series 
of  ornamentation  is  of  a  style  two  centuries  later,  shewing  the 
continued  veneration  of  the  relic  as  time  advanced.  The 
centre  is  adorned  with  a  large  crystal,  or  Irish  diamond,  set 
with  great  skill,  and  surrounded  Avith  plates  of  silver  embossed 
with  rows  of  ribband  tracery,  the  form  of  the  cross  is  seen  con- 
spicuously introduced;  the  shrinehas  an  arched  top,  also  of  sil- 
ver, having  on  its  summit  three  raised  oblong  figures,  surmoun- 
ting a  scroll  similar  in  pattern  to  that  of  the  tracery  on  the  left 
hand  lower  corner  of  the  front.  The  arched  top  continuations 
are  of  brass,  beneath  which,  the  flowering  attached  to  the 
hooks  for  suspending  the  bell  is  made  of  silver ;  the  two  larger 
spaces  in  front  of  the  arched  top,  were  most  probably  filled 
with  precious  stones,  as  the  fold  setting  still  remains  entire. 
The  spaces  on  the  back  of  the  arched  top,  consist  of  a 
central  floriated  triquctra,  and  two  human  heads  underneath, 
engraved  on  silver  gilt,  the  bell  is  accurately  represented 
in  the  lithographs  referred  to  as  well  as  in  reduced  illus- 
trations given  by  Ellacombe.2  There  is  also  an  engraving 

1  Ulsttr  Journal  of  Archeology,  vol.  1,  p.  274. 

2  Ell  combe's  Bells  of  Devon,  p.  363. 


336 


1NIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 


by  Fairholt.1  We  referred  to  this  bell,  in  a  paper  read 
before  the  R.  T.  Academy,2  since  which  it  bas  been 
ascertained,  that  the  bell  was  then  in  the  possesison  of  Lady 
Otto  Fitzgerald  widow  of  the  brother  of  the  late  Duke  of 

1  Miscellanea  Graphica,  1857. 

2  Proceedings  R.I. A.,  2nd  scries  vol.  ii.,  1881,  p.  9!>. 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  837 

Leinster,  an  application  was  made  to  the  Duke  to  cause 
the  bell  to  be  placed  for  safety  in  the  Museum  of  the 
Irish  Academy  which  he  promised  to  endeavour  to  effect, 
but  his  good  intentions  had  not  been  carried  out  before  hia 
death.  We  hope  from  having  again  brought  tne  subject 
under  the  notice  of  Lord  Walter  Fitzgerald,  that  this  bell 
may  remain  at  home  in  the  Irish  National  Museum,  and 
shall  not  go,  as  many  others  have  gone,  to  adorn  the  Anglo- 
Saxon  room  of  the  British  Museum.  The  bell  of  St.  Mura 
was  exhibited  at  a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  by 
the  Secretary,  the  late  Rev.  J.  Henthorn  Todd,  who  read  a 
letter  from  the  owner,  Mr.  John  McClelland  of  Dungannon, 
stating  it  was  found  in  the  cabin  of  a  poor  fisherman  at  Fahan, 
before  it  was  purchased  on  his  account.1  Dr.  Petrie,  who 
was  present  at  the  meeting,  made  some  remarks  on  the  bell, 
and  gave  additional  evidence  to  show  that  it  was  the  bell 

of  St.  Mura  mentioned  by  Colgan.2 

i 

THE  DONAGH  BELL. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,3  the  Secretary 

1  The  Author  received  from  Mr.  McClelland  now  in  Dublin,  a  recent 
communication,  says  : — The  Bell  of  St.  Mura,  had  been  purchased  for  his 
account  by  a  collector  named  Keynolds  in  Inis-Owen  in  1850,  for  the  sum  of 
six  pounds.  Mr.  McClelland,  says  this  collector,  had  been  after  the  bell  for 
many  years  before  he  procured  it,  and  the  only  information,  the  collector 
gave  was  embodied  by  Mr.  McClelland  in  the  account  he  gave  to  the 
Ulster  Journal  of  Archaeology,  vol.  1.,  1853.  It  was  sold  at  Christie's, 
London,  on  Mr.  Clelland's  account,  to  Lord  Lonclesborough,  in  1856,  for  72 
guineas,  and  is  now  among  other  antiquities  to  be  sold  by  Spitzer  in 
Paris.  Spitzer  purchased  it  at  Londesborough's  sale. 

9  Proceedings  R.I.A.,  29th  Nov.,  1851. 

3  Deer.  13tb,  1847,  Proceedings,  vol.  iv,,  p.  24, 

43 


338 


INIS-OWEX  AND  TIRCONNELL. 


presented  the  ancient  bell  that,  formerly  belonged  to  the 
parish  of  Donagh  in  Inis-Owen. 

This  bell,  like  most  ecclesiastical  bells  dating  back  to  the 
time  of  Saint  Patrick,  had  a  special  keeper  appointed  to 
be  its  custodian,  with  a  grant  of  land  set  apart  for  his 
own  use. 

This  gort  of  land  in  Donagh,  appears  to  have  been 
religiously  preserved  throughout  the  centuries.  We  find  one 
of  these  gorts  of  church-lands  mentioned  in  an  Inquisition, 
taken  at  Lifford  in  1609,  as  belonging  "to  the  keeper  of 
the  Saint's  bell''. 


bell 


op 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  339 

The  presentation  of  the  Donagh  bell  was  made  to  the 
Academy  by  John  Connellan  Deane,  who  told  in  a  letter 
then  read  to  the  Academy  of  how  he  obtained  the  bell.— 
"The  facts  connected  with  it  are  shortly  these  :  a  pawn- 
broker residing  at  Carndonagh  in  the  union  of  Inis-Owen, 
which  I  had  charge  of  under  the  temporary  relief  act, 
offered  it  to  me  for  sale  when  I  was  engaged  in  official 
business  in  that  town,  it  appears  to  have  been  under  the 
control  of  the  pawnbroker  for  a  great  number  of  years.  It 
was  stated  to  have  been  found  in  the  townland  of  Cean-na- 
Clug  [the  head  of  the  bell]  which  townland  takes  its  name 
from  the  bell". 

It  appears  the  bell  had  been  in  the  possession  of  the  late 
Philip  McColgan,  of  Priestown,  who  was  fourth  in  descent 
from  a  nephew  of  the  finder  (the  Rev.  Michael  McColgan), 
at  Cean-na-Clug,  where  it  had  been  hidden  away  under 
the  soil.  From  Father  McColgan's  time  it  remained  in  the 
possession  of  the  McColgan  family  of  Priestown,  but  how  it 
found  its  way  into  the  mont-de-piete  of  Carndonagh  has  not 
been  clearly  discovered. 

Philip  McColgan  was  about  eighty-six  years  of  age  when 
he  died,  about  twenty  years  ago. 

The  bell  of  Ceann-na~cloig  is  a  small  quadrangular 
hand  bell,  of  the  material  known  as  golden  bronze,  about 
five  inches  in  height,  two  and  a  quarter  inches  by  two  and  a 
half  inches  at  the  mouth,  narrowing  to  the  top,  which  has 
the  remains  of  two  finger  holes  of  about  one  inch  diameter 
each,  by  which  the  bell  was  held  by  the  hand  when 
sounded. 

An  interior  hook,  also  of  bronze  three  quarters  of  an 
inch  in  depth,  by  one  quarter  inch  thick,  cast  in  bronze 


340  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIECONNELL. 

projects  interiorly;  from  which  was  suspended  an  iron 
clapper  four  inches  in  length,  having  an  enlarged  conical 
thickening  at  the  lower  end  that  striking  against  the  sides 
produced  when  struck  a  very  sonorous  sound.  A  gap  has 
been  worn  in  one  of  the  sides  from  constant  use  of  the 
iron  clapper. 

This  iron  clapper  is  now  wanting,  since  the  bell  has  been 
removed  to  the  Museum  of  Science  and  Art,  Dublin, 
where  it  is  exhibited  among  the  Koyal  Irish  Academy's 
collection.  It  is  more  than  probable  that  this  ancient  bell 
formerly  belonging  to  the  parish  of  Donagh  had  a  cover- 
ing case  made  for  its  preservation. 

Finger  holes  in  bells  are  rarely  met  with,  they  appear  in 
the  Drumholm  bell,  and  in  another  small  bell  in  the  Aca- 
demy's museum,  said  to  have  been  found  at  Castleblaney,  of 
almost  the  same  shape  and  size  as  the  Donagh  bell,  being 
five  inches  in  height,  by  two  and  three-quarter  inches,  by 
two  and  a  half  inches  at  base. 

Dr.  Petrie  read  a  paper  to  the  Academy1  on  the  subject 
of  these  ancient  Irish  consecrated  bells,  wherein  he  hag 
endeavoured  to  point  out  the  period  of  their  introduc- 
tion into  Ireland ;  and  states,  though,  it  is  possible  that  they 
might  have  been  in  use  previous  to  the  introduction  of 
Christianity,  he  has,  however,  produced  no  authority  from 
which  to  support  that  view.  He  next  shows  that  there  is 
abundant  evidence  to  prove,  that  in,  and  from  the  time  of 
St.  Patrick,  they  were  generally  used  for  the  service  of  the 
Church.  These  bells  were  preserved  in  the  churches  to 
which  they  originally  belonged,  under  the  CUTTHOAC,  or  pro- 

i  May  13th,  1838,  Procttdings  A.  I.  A.t  vol.  1,  pp.  17*  and  175. 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  341 

tection  of  a  special  keeper.  They  were  usually  enshrined 
in  cases  of  the  most  costly  materials  and  elaborated  work- 
manship. Dr.  Petrie  proves  that  many  of  these  bells, 
though  hitherto  unknown  to  the  literary  world,  still  remain 
in  Ireland.  All  the  early  Irish  bells  are  quadrangular  in 
form  and  vary  in  height  from  four  to  fifteen  inches,  and 
that  they  are  of  the  antiquity  assigned  to  them  by  popular 
tradition  he  proves  by  a  chain  of  historical  notices  col- 
lected from  the  Irish  Annals  and  other  records  of  the  most 
trustworthy  reliance. 

The  names  of  the  artists  who  constructed  and  embellished 
the  cases  or  shrines  of  many  of  our  Irish  bells  are  thereon 
engraved,  thus  clearly  proving  their  Irish  workmanship.1 

THE  SANCTA  MARIA  BELL.2 

Another  bell  that  claims  attention  in  connection  with  the 
site  of  the  T)orhn AC-ID OJA  of  Glen-Tachair,  is  the  bell  that  now 
occupies  the  belfry  of  the  Protestant  church  of  Carndonagh. 

It  had  been  traditionally  stated  that  this  bell  had  been 
in  use  formerly  on  the  Catholic  church  previous  to  the 
sixteenth  century ;  but  no  confirmation  of  the  fact  could 
be  produced.  In  1890  the  Author,  when  examining  the 
remains  of  the  sculptured  slabs  in  the  churchyard  adjoining, 
suggested  to  the  Kev.  Philip  O'Doherty,  M.R.I.A.,  the 
desirability  of  having  the  bell  examined.  This  he  afterwards 
had  done ;  and  Mr.  Robert  Moore,  junr.,  made  a  complete 
rubbing  of  the  bell,  on  which  appears  the  following  in- 
scription : — 

1  Proceedings  R.I.A.,  vol.  5,  p.  206, 

8  Proceedings,  R,LA.>  3rd  series,  vol.  ii.,  p»  103. 


342 


OWEN    AND    TIRCONNELL. 


-f-    SANCTA    :    MARIA    :    ORA   :    PRO    :    NOBIS 
EECARDUS  POTTAR    jrSliri      DE  VRCCIK  ME  FECIT  ALLA 


This  legend  left  no  doubt  as  to  the  correctness  of  the 
tradition  that  the  bell  had  been  originally  intended  for 
Catholic  use;  but  the  questions  remained,  who  was 
Recardus  Pottar,  and  where  was  iJ&Utttt  ?  If  the 
locality  of  Recardus  Pottar  could  be  found,  the  date  when 
he  cast  the  bell  might  be  ascertained.  The  Author  exa- 
mined many  geographical  charts  and  treatises  on  geography. 
ancient  and  modern,  for  the  word  Vrucin,  but  was 
unable  to  find  it.  Believing  that  Vrucin  was  in  the 
Low  Countries,  the  Author  sought  for  information  till  he 
found  a  place  called  Vracene,  near  Antwerp.  Inquiry  was 
made  from  the  cur  6  of  that  commune,  in  East  Flanders  ; 
but  the  cur6  maintained  that  Vracene  was  never  known  as 
Vrucin,  and  that  the  name  Pottar  was  unknown,  although 
de  Potter  exists  there  still.1 

Consequently  the  date  of  the  bell  can  at  present  only  be 
judged  from  its  type  and  embellishments.  It  is  of  the 
ancient  long-waisted  form. 

1  Du-Cange,  in  his  Glotsarium  Latinitatis  (Paris,  1840),  p.  716,  says  — 
"Brucin  propre  a  faire'manches  de  coutoaux:  "  and  strange  the  curt 
informs  the  author  that  in  Vracene  a  email  trade  in  implement*  is  still 
carried  on  in  the  commune. 


DONEGAL  BELLS. 


343 


We  give  here  an  outline  of  the  Sancta  Maria  Bell,  as  it 
is  placed  in  the  small  bell  tower  on  the  Church  at  Carn- 
donagh.  We  are  indebted  for  the  drawing  from  which  the 
above  cut  is  produced  to  Mr.  Eobert  Moore,  junior,  of 
Churchtown,  Carndonagh,  and  for  the  dimensions  of 
the  bell,  which  he  also  supplied.  Its  diameter  at  the 
mouth  is  twenty  inches;  at  the  Sancta  Maria  imprint, 


^THE^SANCTApIARIA   BELL. 

[Carndonagh]. 


344  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

eleven  and  a  half  inches ;  the  height  is  seventeen  and  a  half 
inches,  and  its  weight  is  perhaps  about  one  hundred  and 
twenty  pounds. 

The  question  of  how  it  came  to  find  its  way  to  this 
church  in  Inishowen  arises.  The  Author  is  of  opinion  that 
it  may  have  been  on  board  one  of  the  ships  of  the  Spanish 
Armada  that  suffered  shipwreck  in  1588  within  a  compara- 
tively few  miles  of  the  church  of  Donagh,  where  the  bell 
has  been  discovered.  We  are  told  that  some  vessels  of 
the  Armada  were  fitted  out  on  the  (Schelde)  Escault,  in 
the  vicinity  of  Vrucin,  or  Vracene,  and  we  also  learn  that 
several  articles  supposed  to  be  of  value  were  received  in 
Inishowen,  from  the  Spaniards  who  were  saved  from  the 
wreck  of  one  of  their  ships  driven  in  at  a  creek  named 
Glanganvey.1 

THE  BARNAN  CONALL. 

The  gapped  bell  of  Saint  Connall  of  Inis-Caoil,  now  in  the 
British  Museum,  is  another  relic  of  Tyrconnell,  that  for  years 
all  trace  of  had  been  lost.  The  Author  has,  however,  given 
in  a  recent  publication  several  particulars  connected  with 
this  magnificent  relic  that  formerly  belonged  to  the  parish  of 
Inis-Caoil  near  Glenties.2 

We  are  indebted  to  the  Council  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy  for  permission  to  publish  herein  the  following 
zincographs  taken  from  engravings  prepared  for  the  Aca- 
demy, many  years  ago,  to  illustrate  a  paper  on  Irish 
Ecclesiastical  Bells,  by  Dr.  George  Petrie,  which  unfortu- 

1  Calendar  State  Papers  Elizabeth,  1588—1592,  p.  xvii.  (London,  1885). 

2  Antiquarian  and  Topographical  Notts  of  Donegal,  1st  series,  p.p.  96 
and  126,  Dublin,  1891. 


DONEGAL  BELLS. 

nately  never  was  published.  The  manuscript  itself  is  not  to 
be  found  in  the  Academy,  and  there  is  only  a  short  abstract 
in  the  Proceedings,  where  it  is  mentioned  that,  "  Mr.  Petrie 
read  a  paper  on  Ancient  Irish  Consecrated  Bells",  at  a 
meeting  held  on  the  13th  May,  1838. l 


[The  gapped  Bell  of  St.  Connell] 

(Plate  iv.  R.I.A.) 

1  Proceedings  R.I.A.,  vol.  i,  p.  174. 

»  This  is  where  the  piece  of  early  Irish  work  shown  on  plate 
fastened  unto  the  original  plates  of  the  bell. 

44 


346  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Our  first  representation  (plate  iv.  shows  the  bell  of  St. 
Connell  without  the  shrine. 

O'Donovan  who  visited  Major  Nesbitt,  the  then  pos- 
sessor of  the  bell  at  Woodhill,  Ardara,1  tells  of  how  during 
the  cujiAf,  made  by  the  people  to  1rnf-CAotL,  where  the 
ruins  of  the  Church  of  St.  Connell  stand ;  the  senior  of 
the  house  of  O'Breslan,  the  hereditary  keepers  of  the  bell, 
"  stood  or  knelt  at  a  sacred  rocky  place,  called  Conall's 
bed,  and,  praying  in  Latin,  held  forth  the  bell  to  be  kissed 
by  the  pilgrims1'. 

O'Donovan,  though  he  wrote  to  Major  Nesbitt,  "  request- 
ing to  get  the  words  of  the  prayer  repeated  by  O'Breslan", 
has  left  no  record  that  they  were  obtained  ;  perhaps  some 
person  connected  with  Inis-Keel  or  Glengesh  might  yet 
procure  in  the  neighbourhood  the  words  of  the  prayer. 
O'Donovan  endeavoured  at  the  time  to  induce  the  Major  to 
open  the  case  "that  we  might  see  if  the  bell  was  gapped  or 
had  an  inscription  on  it,  but  he  would  not,  lest  a  report 
might  spread  that  he  got  treasure  within  it  such  as  Sir 
William  Betham  is  said  to  have  got  in  the  CAchAch  or 
sacred  standard  of  the  O'Donnells".2 

The  bell  of  St.  Connell  is  made  of  plate-iron,  formed  into 
shape  and  held  together  by  flat-headed  rivets.  The  size  of  the 
R.I.  A.  engraving  (which  we  believe  is  intended  for  the  full 
lize  of  the  bell,  is  reduced  to  one-half  in  our  zincograph), 
shows  the  bell  to  have  been  about  seven  inches  high,  three 
and  three-quarter  inches  by  about  three  inches  at  the 
mouth,  tapering  to  about  two  inches  at  the  top.  The  bell  is 
much  worn  by  age,  and  shows  on  the  top  corner  and  extend- 

1  October  19th,  1835. 

*  JUSS.  Lttitra  Ordnance  Survey,  R.LA.,  Ardara,  Oct.  18tb,  1835. 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  347 

ing  partly  down  one  of  the  sides,  a  fitted  piece  of  wrought  iron 
plate  fastened  on  the  sound  part  of  the  original  with  small 
riyets.  The  iron  work  of  the  repairs  even  appears  to  have 
been  subjectedto  theinfhience  of  time,  andmany  gaps  appear 
throughout  where  the  iron  plate  has  been  worn  completely 
away. 

To  preserve  the  bell  the  highly  decorated  and  costly 
shrine  was  provided. 

Since  the  foregoing  description  of  the  plates  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  K.I.  A.  has  been  written,  the  Author  has  had 
an  opportunity  of  making  a  close  personal  inspection  and 
measurement  of  the  bell  and  shrine  in  the  British  Museum 
with  a  view  towards  rendering  more  clearly,  if  possible, 
the  figures  and  inscriptions  on  the  shrine. 

The  bell  itself  was  originally  made  rectangular,  standing 
about  7  inches  high,  by  5|  X  3£  inches  at  the  base.  At 
the  top  it  was  3|  inches  by  1 1-  inches.  The  top  or  roof  of 
the  bell  is  now  nearly  all  gone,  from  age  or  decay  of  the 
iron  plating  of  which  it  was  originally  composed ;  the 
plating  of  the  bell  met  and  was  fastened  on  two  sides,  by 
three  rivets  on  each  side  of  about  |  of  an  inch  in  diameter 
on  flattened  head  with  a  span  of  from  1  to  2  inches  between 
each  rivet.  The  bell  had  been  covered  over  with  a  coat- 
ing of  bronze,  intended  to  protect  the  iron  plate  from 
decaying.  The  bell  itself  is  at  present  very  delicate  and 
friable  in  one  or  two  places.  Our  second  zincograph  re- 
presents Plate  iii.  where  it  shows  the  extent  of  the  piece 
of  early  Irish  art-work  placed  at  the  top,  across  the  whole 
face  of  bell,  and  fastened  to  the  solid  portions  of  the  original 
plates  with  a  small  rivet  at  each  corner  of  this  cruciform 
and  scroll-decorated  strengthening  piece,  placed  on  the 


348 


INIS-OWEX  AND   TIECONNELL. 


bell  to  protect  it  at  a  time  long  before  the  decorated  shrine 
that  now  covers  the  bell  had  been  provided.  The  original 
design  of  this  plate  is  valuable  as  a  distinct  specimen  of 
early  Irish  Art  in  metal-work  :  each  of  the  divisions  into 
which  the  cross  divides  the  pattern  are  different  in  design. 
Though  all  are  distinctly  Irish  in  their  details. 


Plate  iii.  of  engravings  in  possession  of  Eoj'ul  Irish  Academy.  This 
plate  shows  the  front  of  bell  with  the  protecting  piece  fastened  across  at 
top  of  bell. 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  849 

Plate  v.  is  a  front  view  of  the  shrine,  which  "  exhibits 
a  beautiful  representation  of  the  Crucifixion";  that  ex' 
tends  over  the  central  and  lower  panel  of  the  three,  into 
which  the  front  of  the  shrine  is  divided. 

In  the  central  panel  stand  the  two  Marys,  one  on  either  side 
of  the  Saviour.  The  figure  on  the  left,  with  head  drooping 
and  inclined  towards  the  Saviour,  whilst  the  other  is  in 
prayerful  attitude  with  hands  folded  over  the  breast.  In 
the  panel  beneath  the  Crucifixion  is  a  circular  setting 
which  O'Donovan  considered  probably  contained  a  relic 
of  the  true  Cross,  or  of  St.  Connell.1  Supporting  the 
largest  gem  are  two  figures,  one  representing  a  female 
dressed  in  a  hooded  head-covering,  cape  and  gown,  and 
the  other  a  tonsured  ecclesiastic,  dressed  as  a  priest  or  friar ; 
but  the  shrine  has  become  so  worn  that  accurate  descrip- 
tion of  the  figures  or  inscriptions  cannot  well  be  made. 

The  shrine  encasing  the  bell  of  St.  Connell,  had  engraven 
thereon  several  figures  and  inscriptions  that  are  now  partly 
indecipherable.  Some  of  the  engravings  are  symbolical, 
such  as  the  representation  of  a  lion  on  one  of  the  sides  of 
the  shrine  being  the  symbol  of  St.  Marc  ;  this  symbol  is 
over  the  letters  |HarCUS.  On  the  opposite  side,  in  a  space 
over  the  letters  iLtldjag  which  was  no  doubt  filled  with  the 
figure  of  an  Ox  or  BULL,  the  symbol  of  St.  Luke  ;  but  the 
plating  of  this  space  is  now  worn  away. 

The  front  of  the  shrine,  which  contains  some  elaborate 
art  details,  in  addition  to  the  Crucifixion  which  is  its 
central  feature,  has  a  space  at  the  top,  divided  into  three 
panels.  On  the  left  over  a  figure  of  the  Virin  and 
Child  are  the  letters  aria  the  first  letter  fH  o 

1  /.  and  T,  (1st  series),  p.  97. 


350 


INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNEU,. 


[Trout  of  Shrine") 
(Plate  v.  R.I.A.) 


DONEGAL   BELLS.  351 

is  wanting.  The  second  panel  contains  a  seated  figure  of 
the  Saviour  with  three  fingers  of  the  right  hand  raised  in 
benediction,  holding  in  the  left  an  orb  representing  the 
world  surmounted  by  a  cross.  This  figure  of  the  Saviour 
wears  a  crown  of  triune  form,  and  over  the  figure  are,  as 
well  as  we  could  make  out,  in  Gothic  letters  ttt3  tttOfo. 
The  third  division  contains  a  representation  of  St.  Michael, 
holding  in  the  right  hand  a  raised  sword  of  Celtic  shape, 
while  with  the  left  hand  he  holds  a  spear,  with  the  end 
pressed  against  the  heads  of  a  double-headed  serpent-shaped 
monster  that  lies  contorted  at  his  feet.  Over  this  panel  in 
Gothic  letters  are  the  word  fiUcfjHfcl.  The  interior  panel- 
ling and  figures  on  front  of  the  shrine  were  evidently 
originally  gold-plated. 

Two  figures,  one  on  each  side,  at  the  foot  of  the  Cruci- 
fixion, the  one  on  the  right  is  a  robed  figure  holding  in  the 
right-hand  a  cross,  and  bearing  a  mitre  on  his  head.  The 
figure  on  the  left  is  draped  as  a  female  with  head  covered 
by  a  hood,  the  inscription  underneath  on  plate  of  silver  is 
so  worn  as  to  be  indecipherable.1 

On  the  back  of  shrine,  across  the  top,  reading  from  right 
to  left,  are  unmistakably  in  Gothic  characters,  letters  as 
follows:  SofyeatieS  $HadjeaUtt.  These  letters  appear  over 
a  figure  of  St.  John  the  Evangelist,  represented  as  an  eagle 
with  outspread  wings,  the  second  figure  holding  a  sword 
in  the  right  hand  is  supposed  to  represent  St.  Matthew, 

1  The  inscription  at  lower  end  of  front  of  shrine,  most  probably  referred 
to  the  maker  of  the  shrine,  or  the  person  who  caused  it  to  be  made,  as 
the  well  known  form  ORO1C,  pray  for,  in  Irish  characters,  may  be  made 
out  on  the  left-hand  side. — W. J.D. 


352  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIBCONNELL. 

but  that  tTlAchetm  was  ever  intended  for  Matthew  we 
cannot  agree  to  as  the  ITlAclieun  is  clear  and  distinct,  this  is 
the  word  O'Donovan,  who  had  seen  and  examined  the 
shrine  before  its  removal  to  England,  considered  was  the 
name  of  the  maker,  i.e.,  Mahon  O'Meehan,1  therefore  we 
adhere  to  our  rendering  of  this  inscription  as  being 


Some  letters  on  the  silver  plate  at  foot  on  the  TTlaj\cuf 
side  of  shrine,  are  we  believe  as  follows  : 

'oo-o'OA    (  -  )2   npn 

The  first  letters  on  left  are  rounded  characters,  and  re- 
semble Irish  letters,  more  than  the  letters  on  the  right 
which  are  of  the  usual  Gothic  form.  It  is  possible  the 
Gothic  may  have  been  placed  over  older  letters. 

The  top  panel  of  the  front  of  the  shrine  contains  three 
emblematic  figures.  The  first  on  the  right-hand  side  is  a 
figure  of  St.  Michael,  with  both  feet  standing  on  a  hideous 
serpent  —  in  his  right-hand  is  a  short  sword  of  the 
Irish  pattern,  lighted  up  with  an  encircling  halo,  whilst  a 
spear  or  staff  is  held  in  the  left-hand,  the  sharp  point  of 
which  is  entering  the  mouth  of  one  of  the  heads  of  the  ser- 
pent, which  is  represented  with  a  head  at  either  end  of  its 
contorted  body. 

The  centre  figure  is  seated,  representing  the  Saviour, 
crowned  with  a  tiara  and  glory,  holding  in  the  left-hand  a 
globe  surmounted  with  a  cross,  whilst  the  right-hand  with 
the  three  first  fingers  extended,  is  raised  in  benediction. 

1  Inis-Otoen  and  TyrconntU  (1st  Series),  p.  97,  Dublin,  1891. 
*  Letters  obliterated. 


DONEGAL  BELLS. 


353 


[Back  of  Shrine] 
(Plate  vi.  li.I.A.) 


45 


354  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIROONNELL. 

The  figure  as  we  look  on  the  left-hand  represents  the 
Virgin  as  an  upright  figure,  holding  the  Child  Jesus  sup- 
ported  by  her  right-arm  against  her  breast ;  whilst  her  left- 
hand  is  raised  to  meet  the  right-hand  of  the  Divine  Infant, 
both  hands  pointing  to  the  "Sword  of  Sorrow"  that 
appears  as  if  piercing  the  left  side  of  the  Virgin.  The 
panels  are  divided  by  a  series  of  intertwined  foliage  or  flowers. 
The  inscription  at  the  top  of  the  shrine,  plate  V,  is  in 
Gothic  letters  that  are  effaced  in  part,  and  difficult  to 
decipher ;  but  the  reading  we  make  would  be  ©ttattttt  9Ut 
JBomtCJjae  (Eunan  O'Donaghy),  and  not  Mahon  O'Meehan 
as  O'Donovan  conjectured  was  "the  name  of  the  artist 
who  made  it".1  The  remaining  letters  that  were  on  the  front 
of  the  shrine  are  undecipherable,  having  been  worn  away 
by  the  rubbing  and  brightening  of  the  shrine. 

The  back  of  the  shrine  is  represented  by  plate  VI.  The 
whole  rectangular  surface  consists  of  one  undivided  panel, 
on  which  appear  three  rows  of  figures,  four  in  each  row. 
These  twelve  figures  do  not  represent  the  twelve  Apostles. 
Between  the  first  and  second  figures  on  the  left  hand  side, 
and  at  top  of  the  engraving,  a  hand  appears  holding  the 
symbolical  keys  of  St.  Peter. 

The  first  figure  we  believe  was  intended  to  represent  St. 
Connell,  who  holds  a  book  in  his  right  hand,  supported 
against  the  folds  of  his  robe,  a  portion  of  which  extends 
down  to  the  feet,  one  of  which  is  shown  uncovered.  The 
next  three  figures  of  the  first  row  we  consider  were  intended 
to  represent  the  Trinity.  The  first  bears  a  sceptre  over  the 
left  shoulder,  the  second  is  a  seated  figure  of  the  Saviour, 
holding  a  globe  in  the  left  hand  surmounted  by  a  cross ; 
»  I.  and  T.,  1st  eeriei,  p.  »7. 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  355 

the  third  figure  standing  on  clouds,  with  the  right  hand 
pointing  towards  the  tongue  of  fire  as  symbolical  of  the 
Holy  Spirit.  The  first  figure  of  the  second  row  shows 
the  hooded  figure  of  a  nun,  with  a  book  in  the  right- 
hand,  whilst  the  left  holds  a  staff  of  office.  The  second 
figure  of  the  second  row  also  represents  a  female,  with  face 
and  right  hand  slightly  raised,  looking  towards  the  figure 
of  St.  Connell,  as  if  in  supplication,  a  slanting  spear-head 
extending  behind  the  left  shoulder  ;  the  third  figure  repre- 
sents a  saint  with  a  nimbus,  and  hands  raised  as  if  in  prayer ; 
the  fourth  figure  of  the  second  row,  shows  the  figure  of  a 
monk  in  contemplation. 

Each  of  the  four  figures  of  the  bottom  row  on  the  back  of 
the  shrine,  bears  a  nimbus,  the  first  holds  in  his  left  hand 
an  Irish  battle  axe ;  this  figure  may  represent  St.  Columkille, 
who  had  been  once  a  warrior.  The  next  figure  supports 
with  both  hands,  a  diagonal  cross,  and  no  doubt  was  in- 
tended to  represent  St.  Andrew  of  Scotland.  The  third 
figure  we  believe  to  be  intended  to  represent  St.  Bridget, 
whilst  the  fourth,  holding  a  tall  cross  firmly  in  the  left  hand 
and  extended  outwards,  whilst  the  right  hand  was  evidently 
raised  in  benediction,  we  consider  was  intended  to  repre- 
sent St.  Patrick. 

The  slanting  roof  of  the  back  of  the  shrine  has  an  engra- 
ved inscription  in  Gothic  letters,  extending  along  the  whole 
width  at  the  top,  they  are  fairly  decipherable  and  read : 
I0!)£atUSntad)£0tt  (Johanes  Machue,  or  Machown).  On 
the  first  of  two  sub-panels  are  engraved  an  eagle,  with  out- 
spread wings,  symbolical  of  St.  John,  the  head  crowned 
with  a  halo,  and  a  figure  representing  the  Saviour,  or  an 
angel,  with  wings  expanded,  and  flowing  hair,  surrounded 


356 


INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNfiLL. 


[END  OF  SHRINE.] 

(Plate  VII.,  E.I.A.) 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  357 

with  a  crowned  glory,  holding  in  each  hand  the  limb  of  a 
cross,  to  which  are  attached  floating  ribbons,  similar  to 
those  used  for  bearing  a  legend  or  inscription.  The  bottom 
panel  of  the  slanting  roof  is  filled  up  with  a  representation 
of  two  sets  of  animals  of  the  hound  species,  attacking  each 
other.  The  end  of  the  shrine  is  shown  on  plates  VII.  and 
VIII.,  each  of  the  panels  are  four  inches  at  the  base,  by 
two  and  three-quarter  inches  at  eve  of  triangular  roof;  both 
are  equally  decorated  with  a  series  of  stars,  having  eight 
squared  ends,  to  each  star,  the  number  of  stars  on  rays  with 
the  two  side-ends  of  the  shrine,  are  forty,  arranged  in  rows 
of  five  in  breadth  and  eight  in  depth  of  row. 

On  plate  VII.  at  base  of  triangular  roof  is  a  band  with 
an  inscription  in  Gothic  letters — 3Lud}a5 — having  a  repre- 
sentation the  head  of  St.  Luke  in  relief  placed  underneath. 

Another  inscription  now  undecipherable,  was  on  a  band 
fixed  across  the  base  of  the  shrine,  which  had  evidently 
been  placed  there  at  a  date  later  than  when  the  starred 
panel  had  been  fixed.  It  is  just  possible  that  the  letters  on 
the  left-hand  corner  of  this  band  were  intended  for  the  date, 
as  their  slanting  angularity  gives  that  appearance  ;  the  only 
clearly  defined  letters  are — *OO — in  Irish  characters  on  the 
right  corner. 

Plate  VIII.  shows  the  left  hand  end  of  the  shrine.  The 
space  within  the  triangular  end  of  roof,  had  been  filled 
with  floral  engravings;  a  band  at  top  of  rectangular  panel, 
having  in  Gothic  characters  the  letters— $EarCU5 — en- 
graved thereon,  with  representation  of  ahead  of  St.  Marc, 
in  relief,  placed  underneath. 

A  similar  band  has  been  placed  at  base  of  shrine  on  this 
end,  same  as  in  plate  VII.,  which  also  had  an  inscription  that 


358 


INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 


[END  OF  SHRINE.] 
(Plate  Vlir.,R!.A.) 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  359 

has  become  by  wear  undecipherable.  Some  letters  on 
this  band  are  in  Irish  characters,  while  others  have  Gothic 
outlines,  this  would  strengthen  the  view  that  these  inscrip- 
tion-bands had  either  been  added  to  the  shrine,  or  taken 
from  an  older  covering.  The  eye-hooks,  to  which  the 
chain  was  fastened  that  suspended  the  bell  around  the  neck 
of  the  senior  O'Breslan  when  he  produced  it  at  the  cu|A4]*, 
were  evidently  attached  to  the  shrine  before  the  series 
of  starred  ends  had  been  affixed,  as  the  hooks  pass  through 
one  of  these  stars.  Only  a  small  portion  of  the  chain 
remained  attached  to  the  hooks  of  the  shrine  when  Petrie 
made  his  drawing,  as  appears  from  the  engraved  plates 
now  in  possession  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy. 

We  at  length  have  the  satisfaction  of  having  discovered 
for  the  people  of  Iniskeel,  the  whereabouts  of  this  long  lost 
relic  of  their  patron  saint,  and  of  contributing  an  ac- 
count of  the  work  done  by  Irish  artists  on  its  embellish- 
ments. 

Copies  of  the  six  B..I.  A.  plates  oftheBellof  CoNALL-CAOiL 
appear  in  the  Appendix  to  Ellacombe's  Bells  of  the  Church.1 

A  woodcut  of  a  very  early  bell  of  the  square  type  for- 
merly in  the  possession  of  John  Tredennick  of  Camlen,  near 
Ballyshannon,  is  shown  by  Ellacombe.  It  appears  to  have 
been  an  iron  bell,  one  of  the  sides  of  which  had  been  partly 
broken.  It  was  found  near  the  ruins  of  an  old  chapel.  An 
effort  ought  to  be  made  to  trace  its  history.  Early  bells  of 
this  class  were  invariably  encased  within  a  costly  covering.1 

1  Bella  of  the  Church,  Exeter,  1872,  plate  iii.  to  viii. 
*  Ibid,  p.  372. 


INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 


ST.  BOEDAN'S  BELL. 

The  Culdaff  Bell  is  known  as  the  Belief  St.  Boedan,  Patron 
Saint  of  that  parish,  the  Saint  was  also  known  as  "OAbAococc, 
of  Cluain-da-Bhaetog  in  Fanaid,  in  Tirconnell.1 

The  bell  has  been  for  many  generations  in  the  possession 
of  a  family  named  Duffy2  of  Glack,  in  the  parish  of  Clon- 
ca,  in  Inishowen.  In  an  Inquisition  taken  at  Lifford,  in 
the  reign  of  James  I.,  this  family  of  Duffy  is  mentioned 
as  being  the  Erenaglis  of  the  parish  at  that  date. 

This  bell  was  exhibited  at 
the  meeting  of  the  British  Asso- 
ciation in  Belfast  in  1852. 
Ellacombe,  who  notices  the 
bell,  was  unable  to  give  any 
sketch  or  particulars.3 

The  Bell  of  St.  Boedan  be- 
longs  to  a  class  of  bells  now 
rare  in  Ireland.     The  nearest 
example   in   shape,    size,    and 
quality  of  the  bronze  used  in 
the  composition  of  this  bell  is 
that  of  the  Clog  beAnuijce,  or 
Blessed   Bell,    called   by   Dr. 
Petrie  the  "Bell  of  Armagh". 
The  inscription  in  Irish  charac- 
ters on  the  Armagh  Bell— i.e.     "  +  Pray  for  Cumascach 
Son  of  AililV—  helps   to    determine   the   date;    as   the 
1  O'Clery's  Calendar,  July  22nd  ;     Beeves'  Columba,  p.  409. 
8  The  family  name  of  present  owners  is  Doherty.    The  bell  having 
been  brought  into  that  family  by  the  mother  (whose  name  was  Duffy,  or 
Dooghie)  of  Mr.  Patrick  Doherty  of  Carndonagh. 
3  Church  Bells  of  Devon,  p.  372.     Exeter,  1872. 


ST.  BOEDAN'S  BELL. 


DONEGAL  BELLS.  361 

death   of   that    distinguished  person    is   recorded  A.  D. 
904. 

The  dimensions  of  the  Armagh  bell,  including  the  handle, 
are  !!•£  in.  high  by  11  in.  by  8  in.  at  the  mouth. 

The  Bell  of  St.  Boedan,  the  Author  believes,  belongs  to 
an  earlier  date  than  the  Armagh  bell — to  perhaps  the  transi- 
tion period,  between  the  early  rectangular  and  the  rect- 
angular merging  into  the  circular,  or  rather  elliptical. 

This  bell  is  about  11  in.  high,  including  the  handle,  the 
latter  being  2i  in.  high  and  3  in.  broad. 

The  handle  springs  from  the  crown  of  the  bell  in  two 
stems  of  bronze,  each  half-an-inch  in  diameter,  shaped  in 
the  horizontal  lifting  bar,  with  a  central  swelled  division 
to  fit  the  fingers  by  which  the  bell  was  raised. 

The  mouth  of  the  bell  is  elliptical,  8i  in.  by  5£  in. ; 
as  against  the  11  in.  by  8  in.,  the  width  of  the  Armagh 
bell. 

Like  this  latter,  the  Culdaffbell  has  a  beaded  rim  that 
curves  out  from  the  upright  on  the  outside  of  the  mouth. 
This  rim  projects  about  half-an-inch  beyond  the  sides. 
The  shape  of  this  bell,  while  it  retains  some  of  the  quad- 
rangular form  of  the  earlier  bells,  is  formed  by  easy  curves. 
One  of  the  sides  is  straighter,  and  the  bell  is  narrower  on 
that  side  than  on  the  opposite  by  about  1£  in.  This  would 
show  that  the  mould  had  been  irregularly  formed,  and 
shaped  without  accurate  measurements.  At  the  top  the 
bell  narrows  to  3|  in.  by  2  in. 

At  4  in.  from  the  mouth — is  a  circular  hole,— one  on  each 
face  half-an-inch  in  diameter,  believed  to  have  been  cast 
in  the  bell,  or  perhaps  drilled  in  the  bronze  as  in  the 
Armagh  bell.  These  holes  may  have  been  made  for  the 

46 


362  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIECONNELL. 

purpose  of  improving  the  sound,  by  allowing  the  sound 
waves  to  escape  withoiit  being  impounded  against  the 
narrow  surface  of  the  crown. 

This  may  have  been  necessary  in  the  larger  casting, 
more  so  than  in  the  ordinary  small- sized  bronze  bells  in 
use  during  the  sixth  and  seventh  centuries. 

The  loop  from  which  the  clapper  of  the  bell  was  sus- 
pended is  broken  off,  but  there  remains  enough  to  show 
the  mode  of  fastening. 

The  bell  at  present  produces  a  full  mellow  tone,  though 
the  abrasions  at  one  corner,  near  the  mouth,  interfere  with 
its  sound. 

The  bell  of  St.  Finian  of  tn^h-bile  (Moville)— from  a 
district  adjoining  the  parish  of  Culdaffin  Inishowen — is 
mentioned  by  Ellacombe  as  being  of  bronze,  and  very 
similar  to  the  Bell  of  St.  Boedan.1 

The  Bell  of  St  Fillian,  also  noticed  by  Ellacombe,  is  of 
the  same  class  and  of  quadrangular-shaped  bronze.  The  name 
of  St.  Fillian,  who  flourished  in  the  middle  of  the  seventh 
century,  is  preserved  in  Strathfillan  on  the  Clyde ;  the  bell 
that  bore  his  name  is  described  as  having  been  about  1.2  in. 
high,  and  of  an  oblong  form.  An  English  antiquarian  is 
said  to  have  carried  off  the  bell  from  the  graveyard  in  the 
parish  of  Killin,  in  Perthshire,  about  the  year  1800,  where 
up  to  that  time  it  had  been  preserved.2 

Before  closing  this  chapter  on  Donegal  Bells,  as  the 
late  Dr.  Reeves  observes,  "  It  is  deserving  of  mention  that, 
in  1635,  King  Charles  I.  wrote  to  John  Lesley  [Protestant] 

1  Edit  of  Devon,  p.  330. 

3  See  Paper  in  Proceedings  of  (fie  Royal  Irish  Academy,  3rd  Ser.,  Vol. 
II.,  p.  114,  Dublin,  1891. 


THE  MOST  REV.   JOHN  KEFS  O'DOHERTY.          363 

Bishop  of  Eaplioe,  in  reference  to  his  predecessor  Andrew 
Knox,  stating  that  '  Andro,   late  Bishop  of  Rapho,   did 
without  just  caus  or  any  warrant  from  our  late  royall  father 
or  ws,  carie  with  him  two  of  the  principal  bells  that  were 
in  Icolmkill  [lona]  and  place  them  in  some  of  the  churches 
'of  Rapho ' ;  and  requiring  him  to  deliver  unto  the  present 
bischop  of  the  Yles  [Isles  |  these  two  bells*for  the  use  of 
the  said  Cathedral  Church".1 
What  has  become  of  these  two  bells  ?2 


XXX. 
MISCELLANY. 

THE  MOST  EEV.  JOHN  KEYS  O'DOHERTY, 

Bishop  of  Derry,  was  born  25th  September,  1833,  in  the 
Upper  Liberties,  two  miles  from  the  City  of  Deny,  but 
within  the  parish  of  Templemore.  He  was  educated  first 
at  the  neighbouring  schools  of  Molenan  and  Carrigans,  and 
subsequently  at  the  Seminary,  established  by  Dr.  Maginn 
in  the  City.  In  this  school  he  afterwards  began  his 
classics.  On  the  closing  of  this  Seminary  he  pursued  his 
classical  studies  at  a  private  school,  kept  by  Mr.  Samuel 
McQuilkin  of  Derry,  from  whom  he  passed  to  the  school 
of  Mr.  Campbell,  an  eminent  classical  teacher,  in  Clonmany. 
He  entered  Maynooth  in  1855  ;  at  the  end  of  his  course 
was  promoted  to  the  Dunboyne  Establishment ;  or 
dained  by  the  late  Dr.  Kelly  in  the  Long  Tower  Chapel 
August  4th,  1861  ;  appointed  curate  to  the  P.P.  of 

1  Life  of  St.  Columba,  edited  by  William  Keeves,  D.D.,  p.  280,  Dublin, 
1857. 
9  Ibid.,  p.  326, 


364  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Carndonagh  the  same  year,  and  soon  after  was  transferred 
to  Malin.  Four  years  after  his  ordination  he  was  sent  as 
Adminstrator  to  Newtownstewart,  Co.  Tyrone,  where  he 
remained  for  nearly  twenty-five  years,  till  the  date  of  his 
election  to  the  See  of  Derry  in  October  1889.  He  was 
consecrated  in  St.  Eugene's  Cathedral,  Derry,  on  the  2nd 
March,  1890.  So  far  as  is  known  he  is  the  second  of  the 
name  who  has  held  the  See,  and  since  Eugene  O'Doherty 
occupied  it  in  1554,  he  is  the  first  who  was  consecrated  in 
the  City  as  Bishop  of  Derry.  All  the  prelates  who  filled 
the  See  during  the  intervening  space  of  time,  were  either 
transferred  from  other  sees,  or  consecrated  merely  as  co~ 
adjutors,  deriving  their  title  from  some  foreign  see.  The 
present  bishop  possesses  an  extensive  and  valuable  library, 
specially  rich  in  works  on  Irish  History  and  Antiquities. 
An  old  prophecy  exists  in  the  country,  that  when  an 
O'Doherty  rules  in  Derry  and  an  O'Donnell  in  Raphoe, 
Ireland  shall  be  free.  Let  us  hope  the  prophecy  may  be 
fulfilled  in  the  time  of  the  present  prelates.  Dr.  O'Doherty, 
in  addition  to  being  an  eminent  antiquarian  scholar,  and 
historian,  has  written  many  years  ago  several  excellent 
verses  that  have  already  appeared  in  print,  namely :  — 
The  Dying  Nun  ;  The  Beggars  Bed',  On  a  Distant  View 
of  Derry;  St.  Patrick  at  Aileach;  and  The  Hurricane. 
They  first  appeared  anonymously  ;  but  an  Irish-American 
whose  people  belonged  to  Carndonagh  having  obtained 
copies  gave  them  circulation  through  the  American  press, 
at  the  same  time  disclosing  the  name  of  the  author,  and 
thereby  making  them  public  property.  We  regret  we  are 
unable  to  give  the  whole  series,  but  we  have  selected  one 
as  being  more  intimately  connected  with  Inis-Owen,  {  e. : 


BE.  O'DOHERTY.  365 

THE  HURRICANE.* 

The  summer's  sun  was  sinking  down  'neath  Binion's  waveless  bay, 

And  burnishing  its  rippling  tide  with  many  a  golden  ray; 

The  zephyrs  stayed  their  wanton  steps,  and  hushed  their  every  breath — 

The  scene  was  still,  the  bay  was  bright  and  undisturbed  as  death. 

Tall  Raghlhin  looked  with  queenly  pride  far  out  into  the  main, 

And  Binion  threw  its  giant  shade  across  the  watery  plain ; 

And  fair  Donaff  in  distance  blue  raised  up  its  head  on  high, 

And  caught  the  sun's  expiring  beams,  and  kissed  the  cloudless  sky — 

No  dark  spot  dimm'd  the  broad  expanse  that  spann'd  the  silent  sea ; 

That  sky  was  fair  as  eastern  bride,  and  brighter  far  than  she  1 

A  tiny  boat,  like  speck  of  snow,  on  ocean's  bosom  hoar, 
Had  spread  its  sails  at  early  morn,  and  left  that  lonely  shore ; 
The  noontide  sun  had  seen  it  far  out  on  the  watery  track, 
And  vesper  lit  her  dazzling  lamp  to  guide  the  wanderer  back. 

The  idle  sails  now  flap  the  mast,  no  breeze  disturbs  the  sea, 
And  through  Lagg  Bar  the  angry  tide  for  once  steals  silently ; 
The  boatmen  press  the  pliant  oars,  and  raise  the  jocund  song — 
They  pass  the  tower  of  Malin  Head  girt  round  by  barriers  strong ; 
And  Tullagh's  strand  is  full  in  view,  and  seen  is  rough  Maymore — 
Full  well  these  boatmen  know  each  spot  from  Doagh  to  Lheenan  Shore  ! 

But  just  athwart  the  day-god's  track  a  sudden  gloom  has  passed, 

As  if  the  night  her  sombre  veil  across  the  day  had  cast ; 

A  vivid  flash  lights  up  that  gloom,  the  sullen  thunder  rolls — 

It  peals  along  the  startled  heavens,  and  roars  around  the  poles. 

The  gushing  rain  comes  dancing  forth  in  drenching  torrents  wild, 

And  leaps  the  whirlwind  from  its  throne  of  storms  on  storrn-clouds  piled, 

It  sweeps  the  main  with  tyrant  might — upheaves  the  tranquil  bay — 

And  dashes  o'er  the  troubled  sea  like  dolphin  at  its  play  ; 

It  crests  the  wave  with  snowy  foam,  throws  billows  mountain  high, 

And  rears  up  watery  spires  that  pierce  the  bosom  of  the  sky  ! 

*  The  scene  of  this  sketch  is  Clonmany.  a  parish  bordering  upon  Malin,  the  most  nor- 
thern point  in  Ireland.  Raghlin,  Binion,  and  Donaff  aroj  hills  in  the  district  which 
border  on  the  sea,  and  surround  the  Bay  of  Binion,  where  the  boat  was  lost.  This  tale  is 
but  an  outline  of  many  similar  disasters  that  frequently  happsn  the  fishing  boats  around 
this  northern  coast. 


366  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL, 

Tlie  storm  has  ceased,  the  night  is  on,  and  sighs  the  dying  gale, 
And  quick  the  swollen  streamlets  run  in  murmurs  down  the  vale ; 
And  where 's  the  boat — poor  tiny  thing— that  rode  the  wave  at  morn, 
And  spread  in  pride  its  snowy  sail  like  butterfly  just  born  ? 
And  where's  the  crew  that  mann  'd  that  boat — Clonmany's  seamen  bold 
Who  feared  no  tide,  disdained  all  storms,  felt  not  the  winter's  cold  ? 
They  've  sunk  beneath  the  billows's  breast,  down  in  the  salt-sea  wave — 
No  humble  cross  in  hallowed  spot  shall  mark  their  lonely  grave. 
Their  shroud  shall  be  the  sea-weed  green,  their  tomb  the  ocean  sand, 
Their  epitaph — the  tale  which  tells  their  fate  upon  the  land. 

The  summer's  sun  again  looks  down  on  Binion's  waveless  bay, 

And  sees  no  trace  which  marks  the  storm  that  swept  it  yesterday ; 

But  there  are  hearts  beneath  that  tide  cold,  cold  as  winter's  snow, 

Which  never  more  shall  feel  life's  joys,  nor  taste  its  cup  of  woe. 

On  yester-morn  those  hearts  were  glad — their  life  blood  bounded  free — 

The  tempest  swept  across  the  deep,  and  sunk  them  in  the  sea ! 

There  shall  they  sleep  regarding  not  the  storms  that  o'er  them  rave; 

No  sound  of  busy  life  shall  break  the  stillness  of  their  grave  ; 

Eternal  hurricanes  may  roll  unheeded  o'er  their  head — 

No  voice  they  '11  hear  but  that  which  cries : — '•  Arise,  arise  ye  dead ! 


ANNALS  OF  THE  FOUR  MASTERS. 

Dr.  O'Doherty  possesses  an  interesting  manuscript  copy 
of  the  Annals  af  the  Four  Masters.  It  consists  of  six  folio 
volumes,  the  first  four  vols.  were  written  by  Co  JAH  6  Com- 
\\A\-oe  (i.e.,  Eugene  O'Curry,  as  O'Curry  wrote  his  name  in 
the  Irish  characters),  and  a  Mr.  Prcndergast  (not  the 
author  of  the  Gromwellian  Settlement).  The  remaining 
two  vols.  were  transcribed  by  Professor  Connellan.  Those 
by  O'Curry  are  the  same,  SeAAn  O'tDormAtoAin  (i.e.,  John 
O'Donovan,  as  O'Donovan  wrote  his  name  in  Irish),  used 
when  publishing  his  edition  of  the  Annals.  O'Connellan's 
vols.  were  transcribed  by  him  from  the  original  for 


CODEX  DERENSIS.  367 

Sir  William  Betham,  Ulster  King  of  Arras.  The  volumes 
were  sold  by  public  sale  in  Dublin  in  1848,  and  purchased 
for  £50,  by  a  Tipperary  gentleman  named  Ryan,  who 
soon  after  went  to  reside  in  London  ;  at  his  death  the  late 
John  O'Daly  of  Anglesea  Street,  went  to  London,  and 
purchased  the  volumes.  After  O'Daly 's  death,  they, 
together  with  several  Irish  MSS.,  came  into  the  possession 
of  Mr.  Patrick  Traynor,  Bookseller,  of  Essex  Quay,  Dublin, 
from  whom  they  were  purchased  by  the  Most  Rev.  Dr. 
O'Doherty.  Till  the  originals  were  obtained  from  the 
Ashburnham  collection,  by  the  R.  I.  Academy,  these 
volumes  were  the  only  complete  manuscripts  of  the 
Annals,  in  Ireland.  They  will  in  after  years  be  much 
prized  as  examples  of  the  splendid  caligraphy  of  historical 
Irish  scholars. 

CODEX    DERENSIS. 

An  interesting  and  beautiful  manuscript  copy  of  the  en- 
tire Bible  written  in  Latin  is  at  present  in  the  possession 
of  Dr.  O'Doherty,  Bishop  of  Deny.     The  Codex  Derensis,1 
or  book  of  Derry,  is  a  small  duodecimo  volume,  5£  inches 
long,  4|  inches  broad,  and  1  £  inches  thick.     It  is  written 
on  parchment  as  thin  as  tissue  paper,    of  a  more  delicate 
material  than  vellum,  probably  kid  skin.     The  opinion  of 
Dr.  Reeves  is  conclusive  as  to  its  age,  namely,  about  the 
year  1350. 2     It  is  identified  with  Ireland  for  upwards  of 
450  years,  .the  penmanship  is  so  small  and  so  perfect  that 

1  The  name  given  to  the  MS.  by  the  late  Dr.  Reeves,  in  1864,  see 
Kilkenny  Arch.  Jour.  Vol.  V.  p.  8.  Dublin,  1867. 

1  See  description  in  Kil.  Arch.  Soc.  Trans,  vol.  v.  pp.  8-13  by  A.  G. 
Geoghegan,  Dublin,  18G7. 


368  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

it  requires  "  the  aid  of  a  magnifying  glass  to  convince  the 
reader  that  it  is  hand-scribed". 

"  The  initial  letters  of  the  chapters  are  exquisitely  illumi- 
nated, and  the  chapters  are  numbered  in  Roman  numerals 
with  coloured  pigments.  In  some  pages  at  the  end  of  the 
volume  the  letter  beginning  each  line  is  a  small  illuminated 
capital.  Part  of  the  prologus  is  wanting,  but  three  and  a- 
half  pages  of  it  remain.  The  initial  I  of  the  first  verse  of 
Genesis  extends  in  length  to  a  full  page,  and  is  highly  illu- 
minated". 

"  At  the  foot  of  the  third  page  of  this  MS.  is  a  footnote 
in  red  ink,  in  a  hand  more  modern  than  the  text,  but  in 
the  same  style  of  writing,  and  the  same  note  is  repeated 
at  the  foot  of  the  first  page  of  the  New  Testament.  It  is 
as  follows: — "  Hunc  librum  legavit  M.  Petrus  Parys, 
domino  Joanni  Spenser  Quern  relmquet  post  mortem  ejus, 
M —  gistro,  aut  Bacallario  Artium,  aut  honesto  Sacer- 
doti  seculari,  de  terra  Hiberniae  predicatori,  aut  disposito 
ad  predicandum.  Et  recipiens  eundem  distribuet  post 
ejusdemreceptionempauperibusiii.s.  iiii.d.  atque  orabitpro 
anima  died  Petri.  Et  sub  hiis  condictionibus  transibit  ab 
uno  seculari  sacerdote  ad  alterum",  which  may  be  thus 
translated:  —  "M.Peter  Parys  has  assigned  to  Mr.  John 
Spenser,  this  book,  which  he]  shall  leave  after  his  death 
to  a  Master  or  Bachelor  of  Arts  or  to  a  respectable 
secular  priest,  a  native  of  Ireland,,  who  is  a  preacher,  or  is 
disposed  to  preach,  and  he  on  receiving  it  shall  on  its 
receipt  distribute  to  the  poor  three  shillings  and  Tour  pence, 
and  shall  pray  for  the  soul  of  the  said  Peter,  and  under 
these  conditions  it  shall  pass  from  one  secular  priest  to 
another''.  The  use  of  the  word  ligavit  in  this  passage  is 


CODEX  FOYLENSIS,  868 

peculiar,  and  signifies  more  than  is  expressed  by  the  English 
term  bequeathed'11. 

"  This  MS.  seems  to  have  belonged  to  the  diocese  of 
Derry  time  out  of  mind.  It  was  in  the  possession  of  Dr. 
McDevitt,  who  was  appointed  to  the  see  in  1766.  After 
his  death  it  was  either  lost  or  stolen  from  the  diocese.  A 
Derry  student — Mr.  Patrick  O'Loughlin,  when  in  May- 
nooth,  picked  up  an  old  book  one  morning  from  the  book- 
seller who  used  to  attend  the  college,  and  purchased  it  as 
a  curiosity  for  a  mere  trifle.  On  bringing  it  home  after, 
wards,  it  was  immediately  recognised  as  the  lost  MS, 
belonging  to  the  diocese.  Mr.  O'Loughlin  after  his 
ordination  retained  possession  of  the  book.  He  became 
P.P.,  of  Ballinascreen  and  V.G.  of  the  diocese.  At  his 
death  he  bequeathed  it  to  Dr.  Kelly,  Bishop  of  the  see, 
who  in  turn  has  left  it  to  be  kept  in  charge  by  his  suc- 
cessors as  the  property  of  the  diocese'5.1 

CODEX    FOYLENSIS. 

It  appears  that  the  library  of  Foyle  College,  Derry, 
contains  a  vellum  manuscript  of  a  Biblia  Sacra  illuminata, 
"  the'work  apparently  of  Irish  artists,  probably  monks  of 
the  fourteenth  century".2  Dr.  Todd,  S.F.  T.C.D.,  in  1849, 
described  its  contents,  as  containing  "the  whole  of  the 
Old  and  New  Testaments  in  the  vulgate  version ;  and,  what 
is  unusual,  at  the  end  of  the  Book  of  Psalms  we  find  the 
collects  for  the  principal  festivals,  together  with  the 

*  We  are  indebted  to  Dr.  O'Doherty  for  the  particulars  here  given 
other  than  what  appears  from  Mr.  A.  G.  Geoghegan's  paper  in  Kilkenny 
Soc.  Arch.  Trans,  vol.  v. 

3  Kilkenny  Arch,  Soc.  Trans.vol.  v.  pp.  230-233,  Dublin,  1864-66. 

47 


370  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

ordinary  or  canons  of  the  Mass ;  ....  at  the  end  of 
Ecclesiasticus  follow  the  Preparatio  Sacerdotis  ad  Missam, 
and  the  private  prayers  to  be  said  by  the  priest  during  the 

celebration It   is  evident    that    this   was  a   book 

intended  to  be  carried  about  by  an  itinerant  priest,  that  he 
might  be  provided  not  only  with  the  Scriptures,  but  also 
with  the  essential  parts  of  the  Liturgy  for  celebrating 
Mass".  From  a  paper  descriptive  of  this  manuscript  by 
Mr.  A.  G.  Geoghegan,  it  appears  to  have  been  in  the 
library  of  a  former  Protestant  Bishop  of  Derry,  Ezekiel 
Hopkins,  D.D.,  who  had  been  Bishop  of  Raphoe  from 
October,  1671,  till  his  promotion  to  Derry,  llth  November, 
1681.  During  the  time  of  the  siege  he  fled  to  his  native 
England,  where  he  died  at  Aldermanbury  in  June,  1690. 
His  successor,  William  King,  D.D.,  purchased  from  his 
executors  all  the  books  of  his  library,  and  by  Dr.  King's 
will  they  were  left  for  the  use  of  the  clergy  and  gentlemen 
of  the  diocese,  and  were  kept  in  the  old  Free  School  of 
Derry  till  1814,  when  they  were  transferred  to  Foyle 
College ;  where  it  is  presumed  they  yet  remain. 

ANCIENT   SILVER   CHALICE. 

There  is  a  valuable  silver  chalice  at  present  in  charge 
of  the  E.  C.  Bishop  of  Derry,  which  is  interesting.  It 
belonged  formerly  to  the  Dominican  Convent  of  Derry. 
As  in  all  the  old  chalices  the  silver  is  very  pure,  and  the 
workmanship  well  executed.  The  external  base  of  the  cup 
is  divided  into  six  parts  by  lightly  traced  carving.  On 
each  alternate  panel  or  division,  are  carved  minutely  the 
following  emblems :  On  the  first  is  I.H.S.  with  a  heart 


CARDINAL    LOGUE.  371 

underneath  and  three  spearheads  arising  out  of  the  heart. 
On  the  second  is  MR.  A.  over  which  is  engraven  a  sun  sur- 
rounded by  a  halo  of  rays,  whilst  beneath  the  letters  a 
crescent  moon  is  depicted  with  a  human  countenance  inside, 
thus  5  .  On  the  third  alternate  panel  is  the  represent- 
ation of  a  crown  of  thorns.  The  knob  connecting  the 
cup  and  pedestal  is  finely  carved.  The  pedestal  is  a 
hexagon,  on  one  division  of  which  is  carved  either  a 
monastery  or  abbey  church  whose  domes  are  surmounted 
by  crosses,  and  out  of  which  arise  a  prominent  figure  of  the 
crucifixion,  at  the  foot  of  which  are  a  death's  head  and  cross 
bones,  over  which  theHoly  Ghost  is  represented  as  descend- 
ing in  the  form  of  a  dove.  On  one  side  of  the  dove  are  four 
stars,  and  on  the  other  three,  indicating  the  seven  gifts- 
Around  the  foot  of  the  pedestal,  stretching  from  one  side  of 
the  church  or  monastery  to  the  other  is  engraved  the  follow- 
ing inscription: — "  Frater  Dominicus  Connor,  prior  Con- 
ventus  Derensis  Ordinis  predictorum  me  fieri  fecit  Anno 
1640".  "  Brother  Dominic  Connor,  prior  of  the  Dominican 
Convent  of  Derry,  caused  me  to  be  made  in  the  year  1640". 
Another  chalice,  not  so  old  as  the  above  is  preserved 
at  the  Long  Tower  church.  It  bears  the  date  of  its  manu- 
facture and  the  name  of  its  owner — one  Fr.  McKenna  of 
Derry. 


CARDINAL   LOGUE.1 

His  Eminence,  Cardinal  Loguc,  in  a  letter  to  the  Author 
(15th  Nov.,  1889),  forwarding  a  copy  of  sermons  in  Irish 

1  The  Primate  of  all  Ireland  was  created  a  Cardinal  January,  1893. 
See  page  235,  ante. 


372  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

by  the  Most  Eev.  James  O'Gallagher,1  says, — "Later 
there  was  a  Bishop  of  Raphoe,  Dr.  O'Gallagher,  who  seems 
to  have  been  a  very  distinguished  man,  I  could  make  out 
some  scraps  of  his  works  ;  but  of  his  life  I  know  nothing. 
There  were  old  men  alive  in  my  boyhood  who  remembered 
him,  and  the  people  had  many  traditions  about  him ;  but 
all  these  old  people  who  remembered  him  are  now  dead. 
Dr.  Coyle  was  born  in  Rosguill,  the  native  parish  of  the 
late  Primate  [Dr.  McGettigan]  and  myself.  Some  four  or 
five  years  ago  there  was  a  very  good  sketch  of  the  late 
Primate's  life  in  the  Belfast  Morning  News.  Unfortunately 
there  is  no  copy  of  it  in  my  possession.  He  of  course  was 
at  the  Council  of  the  Vatican. 

There  was  another  Bishop  of  Raphoe,  Donald  McGona- 
gal,  at  the  Council  of  Trent.  All  I  know  about  him  is 

O         ' 

that  he  is  buried  in  the  old  church-yard  of  St.  Catherine, 
Killybegs,  but  his  grave  is  not  now  known.  His  ring  has 
been  handed  down  and  is  in  the  possession  of  Dr. 
O'Donnell. 

"  Earlier  still,  there  was  another  Bishop  of  Raphoe  at 
at  the  fourth  Council  of  Lateran;  but  I  do  not  know  his 
name.  In  Fleury's  Church  History,  where  I  saw  the  fact 
mentioned  many  years  ago,  1  don't  think  there  is  any  name 
given.  However  it  might  be  made  out  by  finding  from  the 
Series  Episcoporwn  who  was  Bishop  of  Raphoe  at  that  date". 

THE  MOST  REV.    PATRICK  o'DONNELL. 

The  successor  of  Dr.  Logue  in  the  Bishopric  of  Raphoe, 
is  we  believe  the  youngest  of  the  Irish  Bishops  ;  his  ability 

>  Page  218,  ante. 


DR.  O'DONNELL.  373 

as  a  writer  in  the  Irish  Ecclesiastical  Record,  chiefly  on 
subjects  of  Theology,  is  well  known  to  the  readers  of  that 
publication  ;  although  we  are  precluded  from  making  any 
reference  to  his  powers  as  an  orator  and  preacher,  we  hope 
it  will  be  many  years  before  a  list  of  his  works  be 
necessary  for  publication. 

The  Most  Hev.  Patrick  O'Donnell  was  born  at  Kilraine, 
in  the  parish  of  Iniskeel ;  he  entered  the  High  School  of 
Letterkenny  in  1871 ;  the  Catholic  University,  1873 ;  May- 
nooth  College,  1875;  became  professor  of  Theology,  1880; 
Prefect  of  Dunboyne  establishment  and  Professor  of  Canon 
Law,  1885,  and  was  appointed  Bishop  of  Raphoe,  1888. 

EEV.   STOPFORD   A.    BROOKE,   M.A., 

Of  Bloomsbury  Chapel,  London,  was  born  (as  he  has  in- 
formed the  Author)  in  Glendoan  Manse,  Letterkenny,  on 
the  14th  November,  .1832.  His  father,  the  Rev.  K.  S. 
Brooke,  recently  deceased,  was  a  clergyman  of  the  Irish 
Protestant  Church,  and  published  a  volume  entitled 
Recollections  of  the  Irish  Church,  etc. 

The  Rev.  Stopford  Brooke  appears  to  have  produced  a 
specially  modified  Church  Service,  or  Altered  Prayerbook, 
which  he  uses  in  his  own  church.  Stopford  Brooke  has 
published  several  volumes  of  sermons,  and  edited  Turner's 
Liber  Studiorum.  The  Autotype  Company  published  an 
autotype  edition  of  the  plates,  with  a  learned  commentary 
and  account  of  Turner's  art.  He  is  also  author  of  a 
Primer  of  English  Literature  for  use  in  schools.  This 
volume  has  received  high  praise  from  Matthew  Arnold,  who 
•wrote  a  magazine  article  on  the  Primer,  in  which  he  esti- 
mated highly  Stopford  Brooke's  capacity  as  a  critic  an4 


374  INIS-OWEN   AND  TIKCONNELL. 

a  judge  of  literary  work.  Stopford  Brooke  edited,  with 
critical  introduction,  Shelley's  Poems  for  the  "  Golden 
Treasury  Series"  (published  by  MacMillan).  The  Rev. 
Stopford  Brooke  takes  an  interest  in  Irish  literature, 
having  recently  delivered  the  Inaugural  Adnress  of  the  Irish 
Literary  Society,  London,  of  which  Sir  Charles  Gavan 
Duffy  is  President,  the  subject  selected  being  The  English 
language  as  an  instrument  of  Irish  Literature. 

JOHN   PITT   KENNEDY. 

Lieutenant- Colonel  John  Pitt  Kennedy  was  the  fourth 
son  of  the  Eev.  John  Pitt  Kennedy,  Rector  of  the  Parish  of 
Donagh,  in  Inis-owen,  where  the  subject  of  this  notice  was 
born  on  the  8th  May,  1796. 

His  early  education  was  received  at  Foyle  College 
Derry.  In  1812  he  entered  the  Royal  Military  Academy, 
Woolwich,  passed  his  examination  in  1815,  taking  fourth 
place,  and  joined  the  Corps  of  Royal  Engineers.  His 
time  was  occupied  as  an  engineering  surveyor  in  various 
parts  of  England,  and  in  Malta  up  till  1820.  He  was 
engaged  on  the  construction  of  a  harbour  on  the  Island  of 
Corfu  for  about  two  years,  and  on  the  reduction  of  his 
corps  was  placed  on  half  pay. 

Though  asked  by  the  Government  to  retain  his  civil 
appointment  he  refused,  and  on  returning  to  England  in 
1822,  he  was  appointed  on  transference,  into  the  line  as  a 
captain,  under  Sir  Charles  Napier,  to  be  his  secretary  and 
director  of  public  works  in  the  Island  of  Cephalonia,  one 
of  the  Ionian  Islands.  When  again  placed  on  half-pay  in 
1830,  he  returned  to  Ireland,  where  it  is  stated  "  he  was 
surrounded  by  so  much  misery  that  he  was  induced,  on 


PITT   KENNEDY.  375 

public  grounds,  to  sell  his  commission  as  captain  in  order 
to  provide  funds  to  establish  an  industrial  school  at  Lough 
Ash  in  the  County  of  Tyrone".  In  1838  he  joined  the 
Board  of  National  Education,  Ireland,  as  Inspector- 
General,  on  the  understanding  that  practical  instruction  in 
agriculture  was  to  become  a  prominent  branch  in  Irish 
National  Teaching,  a  subject  which  he  advocated  in  a  book 
entitled,  Instruct,  Employ,  dorit  hang  them.  County  in- 
spectors of  schools  were  appointed,  chosen  by  public 
examination,  and  Colonel  Kennedy  selected  the  site  for  the 
establishment  of  the  Model  Farm  and  Central  Training 
School  at  Glasnevin,  occupying  about  60  acres,  which  is 
still  in  operation,  though  modified  during  recent  years. 

The  system  advocated  by  Captain  Kennedy,  though  not 
carried  out,  was  "distributive  training  by  means  of  agri- 
cultural schools,  going  down  so  far  as  one  for  each  barony  ". 

Few  can  doubt  but  that  great  good  would  have  flowed 
from  such  a  system,  especially  to  the  thousands  of  young 
Irish  emigrants  who  had  to  seek,  without  any  technical 
instruction,  homes  in  the  United  States  and  Canada. 

In  1843,  Captain  Kennedy  was  appointed  Secretary  to 
a  Royal  Commission  for  inquiring  into  the  state,  "  Of  the 
law  and  practice  in  respect  to  the  occupation  of  land  in 
Ireland,  etc."  The  result  of  this  Commission,  was  several 
large  volumes,  since  frequently  quoted  during  debates  on 
the  Irish  Land  Question.  This  led  to  his-  appointment  by 
Lord  Devon  as  agent  for  his  extensive  estates  in  the  County 
of  Limerick 

A  REMINISCENCE   OF   1848. 

The   extensive  famine  in  Ireland    arising  out  of  the 


878  INIS-OWBN  AND  TIRCONOT5LL, 

default  of  the  Government  on  failure  of  the  potato  crop, 
brought  Captain  Kennedy  into  office,  under  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  as  Secretary  to  the  Relief  Commission. 

Having  been  in  Dublin  in  the  spring  of  1848,  he  found  the 
city  as  well  as  the  county  in  a  state  of  excitement.  It  was 
supposed  the  Young  Irelanders  were  actively  organizing 
insurrection  againstthe  Castle-system  of  Government,  which 
they  believed  was  the  chief  cause  of  all  the  miseiies  of 
Ireland.  On  the  other  hand,  it  has  not  been  hitherto 
generally  known  that  a  Defense  Committee  of  the  "  Law  and 
Order  Class"  was  in  constant  deliberation  upon  the 
means  they  intended  to  adopt  in  the  event  of  an  outbreak 
in  the  city. 

PLAN   OF  DEFENCE.1 

Captain  Kennedy  became  in  Dublin  the  chief  adviser  of 
"  Law  and  Order".  His  plan  of  defense,  was  to  "  Select  a 
few  commanding  points,  which  being  properly  occupied, 
would  defend  the  entire  district".  It  appears,  the 
authorities,  civil  and  military,  concurred  with  his,  suggestion. 

On  the  best  procurable  map  of  Dublin,  Captain  Kennedy 
marked  down  the  various  points  for  defence ;  dividing  the 
city  into  districts  so  as  to  effectively  protect  the  whole. 
It  is  recorded  that  "  in  a  few  days  he  had  the  work  done 
so  completely  that  by  throwing  a  few  armed  men  into  each 
of  the  selected  parts,  every  street  and  lane  in  Dublin  would 
be  enfiladed  or  exposed  to  the  fire  directed  from  one  or 
more  of  those  defence  posts".  He  settled  the  number  of 
volunteers  for  occupying  these  posts  at  six  men  for  each, 
to  be  relieved  every  morning.  In  addition  to  the  minor 
posts,  he  selected  twelve  main  posts,  each  to  contain  three 
1  What  can  be  used  for  defense,  i»  equally  available  for  attack. 


CONDITIONAL  LOYALTY.  377 

hundred  armed  volunteers,  to  be  also  relieved  daily,  whose 
duty  would  be,  to  supply  patrols  and  reinforce  the  minor 
posts.  The  authorities  furnished  him  with  powers  to 
take  possession  of  any  house  fixed  upon,  in  the  event  of  the 
city  being  proclaimed,  and  he  had  a  large  body  of  volun- 
teers in  readiness  for  duty. 

CONDITIONAL  LOYALTY. 

The  old  Orange  party,  taking  advantage  of  the  crisis, 
offered  to  support  the  Government,  if  restored  to  some  of 
their  class  privileges,  which  had  been  gradually  reduced 
since  parliamentary  inquiry  had  shown  the  society  had  been 
engaged  in  plottings  adverse  to  the  accession  of  Queen 
Victoria  to  the  throne.  They  sought  the  Government  to 
openly  acknowledge  them  as  Orangemen, "  or  to  have  arms 
granted  them,  failing  one  of  which  privileges  they 
threatened  to  pass  a  resolution  at  their  lodges  witholding 
their  support  from  the  Government".  When  this  request 
of  the  Orangemen,  was  laid  before  Lord  Clarendon,  who 
was  thdn  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland,  the  deputation  repre- 
senting these  views  was  informed,  the  Lord  Lieutenant 
could  not  act  as  they  desired  ;  "  but  that  as  Captain  Kennedy 
was  taking  a  leading  part  in  the  volunteer  defense  of  the 
city,  it  was  quite  possible  he  might  find  means  for  fur- 
nishing them  with  arms".  He  did  so,  authorizing  them  to 
order  five  hundred  stand  of  arms  at  a  price  not  exceeding 
£1  5s  each.  This  quasi-official  recognition  so  satisfied 
the  Orangemen,  that  the  lodges  at  once  passed  "  loyal 
resolutions,  declaring  the  determination  of  the  Orangemen 
to  sustain  to  the  utmost  the  Government  in  the  defense  of 

48 


378  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Law  and  Order".  The  old  truth  of  put  not  your  trust  in 
princes,  or  Lord  Lieutenants,  held  good  in  this  case, 
Captain  Kennedy  failed  to  raise  by  subscription,  the  amount 
required  to  pay  for  the  five  hundred  stand  of  arms 
and  was  obliged  to  disburse  the  cost  out  of  his  own  pocket. 
It  is  not  stated  whether  or  not  any  secret  service  money 
was  available  for  Captain  Kennedy's  use,  but  we  have  heard 
it  hinted  that  some  other  fund  had  been  used  in  part  for 
that  purpose. 

INDIAN  CAREER. 

Captain  Kennedy  in  1849,  on  the  recommendation  of 
the  Duke  of  Wellington,  was  permitted  to  re-enter  the 
army  as  an  ensign,  with  the  understanding  that  in  India 
he  would  soon  be  advanced  to  the  rank  of  Lieutenant- 
Colonel.  Accompanying  Sir  Charles  Napier  as  military 
secretary,  he  also  devoted  his  time  to  laying  out  and  con- 
structing a  military  road  from  the  plains  of  India  to  Simla, 
extending  through  the  Himalaya  mountains  northward. 
This  work  was  carried  out  so  economically  under  Major 
Kennedy's  organization  and  at  about  one-eighth  of  the 
former  cost  of  such  work,  that  the  Government  caused  him 
to  write  a  Code  of  instructions,  which  they  published  and 
circulated  throughout  the  North- Western  provinces  for 
general  adaptation. 

Major  Kennedy's  strong  point  was  engineering,  and  he 
shortly  became  consulting  engineer  to  the  Government 
over  the  railway  department  of  India,  Calcutta  becoming  his 
headquarters.  Here  he  laid  down,  not  a  system  for  the  better 
destruction  of  his  own  countrymen  as  in  Dublin,  but  a 
system  of  rail  communication  throughout  India,  pro- 
pounding as  a»  axiom  "  that  every  mils  of  rail  opened 


KOSA  O'DOHERTT.  379 

•would  enable  the  Government  to  dispense  with  a  company 
of  soldiers",  and  would  otherwise  enrich  the  inhabitants. 
Owing  to  the  effect  of  the  climate  he  was  obliged  to  resign 
his  appointment  as  consulting  engineer,  and  he  returned  to 
Europe. 

In  1852,  Colonel  Kennedy,  was  appointed  consulting 
engineer  and  managing  director  of  the  Great  Central  India 
Railway,  the  section  of  main  line  projected  by  Lieutenant 
Colonel  Kennedy  was  308  miles  in  length,  from  Bombay 
to  Ahmedabad;  he  wrote  many  pamphlets  on  Indian 
subjects,  and  contributed  several  contributions  to  the 
Proceedings  of  the  Institution  of  Civil  Engineers,  London. 

On  the  20th  June,  1879  (eight  days  before  his  death), 
he  resigned  his  position  as  consulting  engineer  to  the 
Bombay,  Baroda,  and  Central  India  Railway  Company ; 
when  the  Bombay  Government  passed  a  resolution  re- 
cording his  services  to  the  State.1 

LADY  ROSA   O'DOHERTY. 

Everything  historically  appertaining  to  Lady  Rosa 
O'Doherty,  the  widow  of  Caffir  O'Donnell,  and  wife  of 
General  Owen  Roe  O'Neill,  the  victor  of  Benburb,  pos- 
sesses for  Inis-Owen  readers  a  special  interest.  "  The 
daughter  and  sister  of  two  chieftains  of  Inis-Owen",2  has 
left  a  letter  written  in  the  Irish  language  that  has  been 
considered  by  John  T.  Gilbert,  F.S.A.,  worthy  of  repro- 
duction in  fac-simile.3 

1  Minutes  Proceedings  Inst.  C.E.,  pp.  293-298.  vol.  lix.,  London,  1880. 

*  See  p.  57  Ante. 

3  Contemporary  Hist.  Affairs  in  Ireland,  vol.  i,  p.  xi. 


380  -INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

We  give  the  Irish  extended,  with  English  translation. 

It  will  be  seen  the  letter  was  written  at  Louvain  on  the 
16th  September,  1642  Her  husband,  General  Owen  Eoe 
Mac  Art  O'Neill,  sailed  from  Dunkirk,  with  many  of  the 
officers  and  men  of  his  own  regiment,  to  assist  the  Con- 
federation in  Ireland,  and  landed  at  Doe  Castle  in  Sheep- 
haven  on  the  13th  July,  1642.  The  battle  of  Benburb, 
where  he  completely  defeated  and  routed  the  army  of 
General  Munro,  took  place  on  the  5th  June,  1646. 

We  preface  Lady  O'Neill's  letter  with  an  historical 
fragment  of  much  interest,  written  by  John  Colgan  ;  unfor- 
tunately for  the  Irish  historian,  it  breaks  off  where,  if 
finished,  it  would  have  been  of  great  value.  Though  this 
fragment  has  been  previously  given  to  the  public  by  the 
late  Rev.  C.  P.  Meehan,1  it  is  peculiarly  appropriate,  we 
consider,  for  quotation  in  this  work. 

HISTORICAL  FRAGMENT.2 

"As  it  is  but  fair  to  bear  testimony  to  the  truth.  I,  the 
undersigned,  brother  John  Colgan,  of  the  Friars  Minor  of 
Strict  Observance,  Jubilate  Lecturer,  Doctor  of  Theology, 
certify,  partly  from  personal  acquaintance,  and  partly  from 
evidence  of  individuals  of  undoubted  veracity,  that  the 

1  Irish  Franciscan  Monasteries  and  the  Irish   Hierarchy,  pp.  317-319, 
Dublin,  1872. 

2  "  As  the  death  of  Colgan  preceded  that  of  Kose  O'Doherty  it  is  not 
improbable  that  the  inscription  [over  her  tomb  at  Louvain]  may  hare 
been  written  by  her  kinsman  Bonaventure  O'Doherty,  who  had  aided 
[p.  129  ante]  in  the  preparation  of  the  works  on  the  Acts  of  the  Saints  of 
Ireland".     Content.  Hist.  Affairs  in  Ireland,  edited  by  Gilbert,  vol.  iii., 
part  i,,  p.  xlii'.,  Dublin,  1880. 


ROSA  O'DOHERTr.  381 

Lady  Rosa  O'Doherty  is  a  matron  of  the  most  ancient 
nobility,  singularly  distinguished  for  her  marriages  with 
two  renowned  princes,  and  still  more  so  by  reason  of  the 
vicissitudes  she  has  undergone  for  the  Catholic  faith. 

Her  mother  was  daughter  of  the  great  John  O'Neill, 
Prince  of  Tyrone ;  and  her  father  John  O'Doherty,  the 
illustrious  chieftain  of  Inis-Owen,  who  after  signal  services 
during  the  war  waged  for  the  Catholic  faith — to  be  related 
hereafter — succumbed  to  hardships. 

The  first  husband  of  this  lady  was  Cathbar,  son  of  the 
most  excellent  Hugh  O'Donnell,  Prince  of  Tirconnell,  a 
man  renowned  for  many  victories  over  the  enemies  of  the 
faith.  He  and  his  two  brothers,  Hugh  Eufus  O'Donnell 
and  Rory  O'Donnell,  Princes  of  Tirconnell,  and  that  most 
invincible  Hugh,  the  great  O'Neill,  Prince  of  Tirone, 
together  with  the  Catholic  nobility,  carried  on  the  fifteen 
years'  war  against  Elizabeth  of  England  victoriously  and 
unflinchingly  for  the  sake  of  the  Catholic  religion.  Towards 
the  close  of  that  war,  when  the  Irish  encountered  some 
reverses,  the  foresaid  Hugh  O'Donnell  sailed  to  Spain  with 
a  hope  of  getting  reinforcements  from  the  Catholic  King, 
and  there  died. 

The  other  princes  having  stipulated  for  the  free  exercise 
of  their  religion,  made  peace  with  the  enemy ;  but  per- 
ceiving that  it  could  not  be  kept  without  compromise  of 
conscience,  and  that  they  were  outnumbered  by  their  foes, 
they,  with  their  wives,  children  and  numerous  kinsfolk 
(among  whom  was  this  matron),  crossed  the  seas,  thinking 
to  obtain  succour  from  the  Supreme  Pontiff  and  the 
Catholic  King,  and  proceeded  to  Rome ;  where,  after  a 
brief  interval,  Rory,  Prince  of  Tirconnell,  etc.,  etc". 


382  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

LADY  KOSA  O'DOHERTY'S   IRISH  LETTER. 

l.tl.  S. 

•A  AchAi^  \\o  onojiAij;, 


-OA  bpntim  j\o  buit>eAch, 
pop  -jio  tutgAi-peAch    cne  HA  ctumpn  50 
An  niAijifci];   CAtnpA  GOJATI  ft<xn    50    tieijunn. 

ACA   l!)A]A    llCl|1  |\O    AlCjeA^    lOtltlAf     TIAC    CCUI^HTl 

ei-pce,  ACC  An  cAonpunc  pn  AiiiAin  IbeAnA^  1e  TIA  <6o1  50 
heifimn.  5uit)iin  pb  (niA'p  eit)i|\  Vib)  ^AC  mm^etA  t)A 
tnbeAnAnn  te  coigeAt)  tit  At)  o'fM^xMti,  ^5«^  ACCU]\  cu^Ainn, 
A^t)^  CIA  A]"  beo  no  Af  triA^b  T>A  nuAiflib,  A^U^A  cionnu-p 
ACA  ci]A  conAiVl,  A^U]"  CA  lnonAX)  mA]i  f 
nitum-pion  t)A|AAibe  tei^,  6i]A  ni  hemiji  jun  gAb  cpit) 
ConAitl  Ap  feAt>  nA  ci|ie  TIIA  ACAIO  f  AXAnAij  no 
mnce,  Ajuf  mAfif  m  T>AH  n-ooi^  ni  ttU5  A  cuit) 
An  cin  :  ACC  Jibe  mot)  A]AA  cctuj-pe  pb  pn 
cti^Ainn,  "oo  CAOib  mo  ifieic  6n]M  -oo  bAt)  ITIAIC  ICAITI^A  me 
•pein,  AJU]'  eipon  x>o  beic  m  6ipnn  *OA 
iomcubAi-6  t)winn.  Ajuf  ni  bA-6  fu^Ail  -ouinn 
mio^A  no  f  e  -peAccmmne  t>o  bUc  t)Aimp|\  Agtimn  te  jAch 
111  -OA  mbeAn]TAt)  pnn  T>O  nei-omJAt)  ni  ^A  tuAice  nA 
t)o  cpiAtt-pAmAoif.  TDeAfUim  nAc  ^151  tn  A  teA]"  nA  neice 
pn  t)o  cAobAt)  ^ib  ni  fA  mo.  ^  tobAn.  16.  ^epcembep, 
1642. 
t)o  cuAtAbAiA  rein  X>AI  nt>6ibA  lAntA  ci\e  ConAitt. 


D'KOSA    0  DlICHARTT. 


ROSA  O'DOHERTY,  383 

[Translation]. 


I.  H.  S. 


"  Most  honored  Father,1 

I  received  your  letter,  for  which  I  am  very  grate- 
ful, and  also  very  joyful  at  hearing  that  the  Camp-Master, 
Owen  (Owen  Koe  O'Neill,  her  husband),  reached  Erin 
safely.  Nevertheless,  your  letter  is  so  short,  that  I  do  not 
gather  much  from  it  beyond  that  one  point  which  refers  to 
his  going  to  Erin. 

I  beseech  you  (if  you  can)  to  procure  every  small  par- 
ticular that  concerns  the  province  of  Ulster,  and  to  com- 
municate it  to  me,  and  (to  let  me  know)  which  of  its 
nobles  are  alive  or  dead,  and  how  Tirconaill  stands,  and 
where  Owen  left  the  munitions  he  had  with  him,  for  it  is 
not  possible  that  he  could  have  passed  through  the  entire 
length  of  Tirconaill,  if  Saxons  or  (Albanian)  Scots  were  in  it, 
and  therefore  in  our  opinion  he  did  not  carry  his  stores  out  of 
the  country.  But  whatever  way  you  may  understand  this 
send  us  an  account.  As  to  my  son,  Henry,  1  should  like 
him  and  myself  to  be  in  Erin,  if  proper  means  could  be 
provided  for  us,  and  we  should  require  about  a  month  or 
six  weeks  to  make  all  our  arrangements.  I  think  I  need 
not  allude  to  those  things  any  more.  At  Louvain,  16th 
September,  1642. 

I  suppose  you  have  heard  of  the  death  of  the  Earl  of 
Tirconnail. 

D'ROSA   O'DUCHARTY". 
1   It  is  supposed  this  letter  was  addressed  to  Rev.  Hugh  Burke,  at  the 

time  ambuiador  (or  the  Supreme  Council  of  the  Confederation  in  Belgium* 


384  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

O'DOGHERTIE  TO  O'GALCHUKE. 

During  the  time  Cahir  O'Doherty  was  in  revolt 
against  the  injustice  practised  by  Pawlett  and  others  of 
the  English  pary  in  Derry,  he  despatched  a  letter  to 
O'Gallagher  of  Banagh,  asking  assistance.  The  letter  was 
written  in  Irish  on  the  28th  June,  1608.  The  following 
is  a  translation.1 

"  The  commendation  of  O'Doghertie  to  O'Galchure.  I 
would  have  you  understand  that  if  you  have  any  hope 
here  or  hereafter  of  your  foster  son  [Earl  of  Tyrconnell's 
child],  and  your  earthly  Lord  [Earl  of  Tyrconnell],  or  the 
good  of  O'Doghertie,  then  cause  your  sept  and  yourself  to 
aid  O'Doghertie.  You  may  the  easier  perform  this,  be- 
cause the  churls  [meaning  the  English]  have  no  courage  but 
what  encouragement  Neal  Arte  Oge's  Sons  and  Tyrconnell 
have  given  them,  now  that  we  have  given  them  over,  we 
make  no  reckoning  of  them.  Let  no  man  imagine  we  are 
any  weaker  for  losing  Birtie  Castle,  unless  he  may  take 
thought  of  the  inconstantness  of  such  as  he  trusted  of  his 
own  people,  whom  now  he  little  regards  [this  refers  to  the 
surrender  of  Beart  Castle  by  the  constable  of  the  castle — 
who  was  of  the  name  and  sept  of  Reagh].  Be  it  known 
to  you  O'Galchure,  O'Doghertie  desires  you  should  possess 
anything  which  the  Earl  makes  account  of  rather  than  any 
man  else  in  Tyrconnell,  because  the  Earl  so  desires  it. 
What  answer  you  make  to  these  matters,  and  concerning 
Lough  Easke  [the  castle  on  an  island  in  Lough  Easke], 

»  S.P.I.  vol.  224,  1451. 


CAHIR  O'DOHERTY.  385 

send  it  in  writing   or   by   word  of  mouth  betwixt  this 
and    the  next  morning,    from    Ballyaghtranyll, 

Cahire  O'Doghertie." 

This  letter  was  intercepted,  and  the  Castle  of  Lough 
Easke  was  delivered  over  to  Sir  Henry  Folliott  by 
O'Galchure  about  the  same  time  the  letter  was  written. 

CAHIR  O'DOHERTY'S  MESSAGE.' 

Shall  the  children  of  Ulster  despair? 

Shall  Aileach  but  echo  to  groans  ? 
Shall  the  line  of  Conn  tamely  repair 

To  the  charnel,  and  leave  it  their  bones  ? 
Sleeps  the  soul  of  O'Neill  in  Tyrone? 

Glance  no  axes  around  by  Lough  Erne  ? 
Has  Clan  Kandall  the  heart  of  a  stone  ? 

Does  O'Boyle  hide  his  head  in  the  fern  ? 

Go  tell  them  O'Doherty  waits — 

Waits  harness'd,  and  mounted,  and  all, 
That  his  pikestaves  are  made  by  the  gates  — 

That  his  bed  's  by  the  white  waterfall ! 
Say,  he  turneth  his  back  on  the  sea, 

Though  the  sail  flaps  to  bear  him  afar ! 
Say,  he  never  will  falter  or  flee, 

While  ten  men  are  found  willing  for  war ! 

Bid  them  mark  his  death-day  in  their  books, 

And  hide  for  the  future  the  tale ; 
But  insult  not  his  corpse  with  cold  looks, 

Nor  remember  him  over  their  ale. 
i  Poems  by  Thomas  D'Arcy  McGce,  p.  309,  New  York,  18C9. 

49 


386  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

If  they  come  not  not  in  arms  and  in  rage, 
Let  them  stay,  he  can  battle  alone — 

For  one  flag,  in  this  fetter-worn  age, 
Is  still  flying  in  free  Innishowen ! 

If  the  children  of  Chieftains  you  see, 

Oh,  pause  and  repeat  to  them  then, 
That  Cahir,  who  lives  by  the  sea, 

Bids  them  think  of  him,  when  they  are  men ; 
Bids  them  watch  for  new  Chiefs  to  arise, 

And  be  ready  to  come  at  their  call— 
Bids  them  mourn  not  for  him  if  he  dies, 

But  like  him  live  to  conquer  or  fall ! 

CAHIR  O'DOHERTT. 

By  Eva   (Miss  Mary   Eva   Kelly).1     [Mrs.  Kevin   Izod 
O'Doherty.] 

By  the  Spanish  plumed  hat,  and  costly  attire, 
And  the  dark  eye  that's  blended  of  midnight  and  fire, 
And  the  bearing  and  stature  so  princely  and  tall, 
Sir  Cahir  you  '11  know  in  the  midst  of  them  all. 

Like  an  oak  on  the  land,  like  a  ship  on  the  sea, 

Like  the  eagle  above,  strong  and  haughty  is  he, 

In  the  greenness  of  youth— yet  he's  crowned  as  his  due, 

With  the  fear  of  the  false,  and  the  love  of  the  true. 

Right  fiercely  he  swoops  on  their  plundering  hordes, 
Right  proudly  he  dares  them,  the  proud  English  lords  ! 
And  darkly  you'll  trace  him  by  many  a  trail, 
From  the  hills  of  the  North  to  the  heart  of  the  Pale. 
1  The  Ballads  of  Ireland,  by  Edward  Hayes,  5th  edition,  vol.  1,  p.  165. 


ROSA  O'DOHERTY.  387 

By  red  field,  ruined  keep,  and  fire-shrouded  hall, 
By  the  tramp  of  the  chargej  o'er  buttress  and  wall ; 
By  the  courage  that  springs  in  the  breach  of  despair, 
Like  the  bound  of  the  lion  erect  from  his  lair  ! 

O'Neill  and  O'Donnell,  Maguire  and  the  rest, 
Have  sheathed  the  sabre,  and  lowered  the  crest, 
O'Cahan  is  crushed,  and  Macrnahon  is  bound, 
And  Magennis  slinks  after  the  foe  like  his  hound. 

But  high  and  untrimm'd,  o'er  the  valley  and  height, 
Soars  the  proud  sweeping  pinion  so  young  in  its  flight1 
The  toil  and  the  danger  are  brav'd  all  alone, 
By  the  fierce-taloned  falcon  of  old  Innishowen ! 

And  thus  runs  his  story — he  fought  and  he  fell, 
Young,  honour'd  and  brave — so  the  seanachies  tetf 
The  foremost  of  those  who  have  guarded  '•  the  fir7 

O  G 

Whenmen  wrote  their  names  with  the  sword  and '    fae  s%.jan»  ji 

1  [Note  by  Eva: — "  Sir  Cahir  was  the  son  of  Sir  Jo!     m  Q'Doherty 
Chief  of  Innishowen,  and  was  born  in  1587.    At  that  t    jme  anj  jurjng 
his  whole  life,  Ireland  was  the  arena  of  the  most  sar    igujnary  -warfare 
between  the  native  princes  and  the  armies  of  Queen  P  Jiza.beth     When 
about  twenty  years  of  age  he  was  described  as   "  a  r  nan  to  be  marked 
amongst  a  thousand— a  man  of  the  loftiest  and  proudest    bear  ine  in  Ulster  • 
his  Spanish  hat  with  the  heron's  plume  was  too  oft  en  tin  5  terror  of  his 
enimies  and   the    rallying-point  of  his   friends    nof  j    to      bespeak  the 
O'Doherty".    Like  most  of  the  Irish  chiefs,  Sir  Cah'ir  was    plundered  of 
his  castle  and  lands,  which  ("  next  to  the  Earl  of    Tircon   nell  hath  the 
largest  territories  there"),  were  given  to  the  Chichfjsters  of     Belfast  and 
other  English  adventurers.    He  was  killed  in  1G08  by  a  ran    iom  shot  (in 
a  skirmish  with  the  English  troops,  where  he  crossed  thei   r  path  near 
Kilmacrenan,  his  body  after  having  been  beheaded  — his  he&<   1  was  sent  to 
Dublin  and  placed  on  a  spike  on  Newgate,  now  Cornmarket-  »was  buried 


f 


388  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 


A  LEGEND   OF  DONEGAL. 

[The  following  legendary  poem,  connected  with  the 
^  \  Malin  Coast  of  Inis-Owen,  first  appeared  in  the  Dublin 
£  \  diversity  Magazine,  and  was  reproduced  in  an  excellent 
jjk  tlesvolume  containing  some  twenty-four  legends,  collected 
froi  "a  various  parts  of  Ireland. 

•j  Tie  name  of  the  author,  who  wrote  under  the  nom  de 
plum  \  e  °^  "  Lageniensis",  was  not  disclosed  to  the  public,  for 
more  \  than  twenty  years,  when  the  title  of  the  volume  from 
which  ^is  legend  is  taken  was  given  in  an  appendix  to  a 
recent  \  publication  that  enumerated  many  volumes  that  had 
emanate  ^  from  the  same  indefatigable  writer''.^ 

To  the  author,  the  Very  Rev.  John  Canon  O'Hanlon, 
P  P  of  Ii  "ishtown,  Dublin,  we  are  indebted  for  permission 
to  publish  i  ^Inis-Owen  legend. 

Legends  i  ^  invisible  castles,  on  the  Donegal  Coast,  are 
of  o-reat  antic  luity.  In  the  Historia  Britonum  of  Nenniusf 
it  is  stated  tht  •  Tuatha  De  Danann,  defeated  the  Fomorians, 
or  mariners  "so  ^at  they  fled  from  them  into  their 
tower"  3  up  on  ^  nicn  Dr.  Todd  makes  a  note  that  the  legends 

it  is  said  nea  r  -wbei  e  he  fell  at  Doon-rock)  after  having  held  Ulster  for 
five  months  t  igaiast    the  armies  of  England.    He  was  brave  and  chival- 
s  faithfu1  I  to  his  t  sngagements,  firm  and  prompt  in  the  execution  of  his 
deigns,  but    implaca\  ^le  in  his  resentments".] 

»  Life  and  '.  Scenery  in  Missouri,  Reminiscences  of  a  Missionary  Priest, 

Dublin,  189C  I. 

a  The  Iri  sk  Version  of  Nennius,  edited  and  translated  by  James 

Henthorn  T«  >dd,  D.D.,  p.  *7,  and  note  a,  Dublin,  1848. 

3  Conaing  'B  Tower,  into  which  they  fled,  stood  on  Tory  Island,  and  is 

supposed  to  bavc  been  a  vitreous  tower. 


INVISIBLE   SEA-CASTLE.  389 

of  glass  towers,  etc.,  "  are  capable  of  two  solutions  :  one 
natural  when  glass  windows  were  a  great  rarity  :  and  the 
other  mystical,  and  analoguous  to  Merlin's  Prison  of  Air, 
whereof  the  walls,  though  invisible  and  transparent,  were 
forever  impassible". 

The  fabled  castle  of  the  poem  is  supposed  to  have  had 
its  existence  near  the  entrance  to  the  rather  treacherous 
and  deceitful  inlet  of  the  sea  named  Trawbreaga.} 

THE  INVISIBLE   SEA-CASTLE.1 

With  ev'ning  shades  descending, 

A  hooker's  sail  was  bending 
The  mast  to  those  white  cots  that  stood  by  clear  fountains, 

Whilst  ocean's  mists  were  blending 
Their  vapourous  hues  o'er  the  Donegal  mountains. 

The  sunset  shadows  hover 

The  rereward  ocean  over, 
Whilst  on  shore  might  be  seen  the  fisherman's  daughter, 

Scanning  the  sail- spread  rover, 
Careering  along  the  horizon  of  water. 

1  Legend  Lays  of  Ireland,  by  Lageniensis,  pp.  31 — 44,  Dublin,  1870. 

Canon  O'llanlon's  Notes : — 1.  The  enchanted  castle  of  the  O'Doherty, 
has  a  fabled  existence  off  the  coast  of  Donegal,  and  far  out  on  the 
Atlantic  Ocean.  It  is  invisible  to  all  except  those  bearing  the  name  of 
the  former  chiefs  and  clansmen  of  Inishowen.  The  description  of  its 
appearance  on  the  Ocean  Island  corresponds  with  that  attempted  in  this 
legend.  Tradition  holds  that  marble  statues  to  be  seen  with  girded 
swords,  and  ranged  within  the  walls  are  veritable  effigies  of  chieftains  and 
warriors  belonging  to  the  renowned  race  of  the  O'Dohertys,  who,  by  some 
strange  enchantment,  were  metamorphosed  into  stone,  at  EV  period  long 
remote.  When  these  spells  shall  be  spoken,  the  inanimate  statues  are  to 
resume;  their  former  vigour  and  condition,  to  draw  their  swords 
and  recover  possession  of  a  lost  inheritance.  This  legend  is 


390  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Those  hardy  sailors,  crowding 

On  spars  their  canvas  shrouding, 
Were  sons  of  the  soil  in  their  lov'd  Inishowen, 

Constant  as  skies  overclouding 
They  clung  to  their  hills  like  the  wild  native  rowan 

Lo  !  'twixt  the  bark  and  highland, 

Their  own  enchanted  island, 
Its  green  shore  extends  to  the  kisses  of  ocean, 

Becalmed  mid  the  sky  and 
The  light  azure  wave  with  its  tremulous  motion. 

Above  the  verdant  bowers 

Arise  embrasured  towers, 
Relieved  by  dark  shades  of  the  far  mountain  broom  ; 

Whilst  fragant  shrubs  and  flowers 
Shed  o'er  the  wild  waves  their  fresh  evening  perfume. 

'Twas  the  islet  castle  haunted 
By  spirit  forms  enchanted, 

somewhat  similar  to  one  which  Charles  Gavan  Duffy  relates  in  his 
introduction  to  the  fine  ballad  of  1nif  eo§Ain,  viz.,  that  a  troop  of  Hugh 
O'Neill's  horse  lies  enchanted  and  in  a  lethargic  trance  within  a  cave 
Aileach.  The  horsemen  only  wait  to  have  this  spell  removed  in  order 
to  wave  their  swords  once  more  for  the  liberation  of  Ireland. 

2.  The  Scotch  borderers  have  a  tradition  that  Thomas  of  Hersildounc, 
surnamed  the  Rhymer,  remains  enchanted  in  the  land  of  Faery :  but,  that 
he  will  return  to  ea*th,  during  some  some  future  great  convulsion  of 
society,  and  then  accomplish  various  distinguished  achievments,  is  also 
believed.  In  Dr.  John  Leyden's/Scenes  of  Jnfancy,  part  I.,  we  find  the 
following  allusions  to  this  superstition,  bearing  a  striking  affinity  to  the 
incidents  recorded  in  our  present  legend : 

"  Mysterious  Rhymer,  doomed  by  fate's  decree, 
Still  to  revisit  Eildon's  fated  tree  ; 


O'DOHERTY'S  SEA-CASTLE. 

That  roamed  after  death  through  bowers  of  bent  wilio w  5 — 

Its  view  never  granted 
To  a  race,  save  the  one,  that  now  sailed  on.  the  billow. 

In  the  walls  are  deep'ning  reaches, 

Where  symmetrically  niches 
Awne  over  some  marble  wrought  figures — when  Hesper 

Sheds  his  last  glow — while  the  screeches 
Of  cormorants  herald  their  homeward-bound  vesper. 

The  chill  and  oozing  dew-damp 

Of  an  overspreading  yew,  stamp 
On  those  statues  a  shade  of  cold  charnel  impress  ; 

With  lurid  light,  a  blue  lamp 
Of  dark  lazuli  swings  from  each  green  leafy  tress. 

And  thus  by  waning  skylight 

Of  a  duskly-gleaming  twilight, 
The  O'Doherty  spectres  of  chieftains  and  vassal 

Loom  on  the  sailors'  eye-sight, 
Who  are  clansmen  of  wardens  spell-bound  in  that  castle. 

A  day  shall  yet  dissever 

From  thrall  those  shapes  for  ever, 

When  oft  the  swain,  at  dawn  of  Hallow-day, 
Hears  thy  fleet  barb  with  wild  impatience  neigh  ; 
Say  who  is  he,  with  summons  long  and  high, 
Shall  bid  the  charmed  sleep  of  ages  fly, 
Roll  the  long  sound  through  Eildon's  caverns  vast, 
While  each  dark  warrior  kindles  to  the  blast". 

3.  Some  sailors  of  the  O'Doherty  family  [they  are  fairly  numerous  in 
Inis-Owen]  being  overtaken  by  a  violent  tempest,  when  far  out  on  the 
Atlantic,  endeavoured,  but  in  vain,  to  reach  the  mainland  of  Donegal. 
The  storm  increased,  and  the  waves  rose  in  mountains ;  their  frail  bark 
was  speedily  overwhelmed  in  the  waters  of  the  ocean.  At  the  moment 


And 


AND  TIRCONNELL. 


bondage  that  clouded  their  primitive  glory  : 
When  waked  again,  they  never 
Must  die  till  their  deeds  be  recorded  in  story. 

But  night  has  come  !  and  ocean's 

Phosphoric  commotions 
Beat  round  the  seamen,  whilst  the  rising  blast  seizes 

Those  hallucinating  notions 
That  depart  with  a  sweep  of  the  fresh'ning  breezes. 

And  the  swelling  billow  washes 
Their  prow  with  bursting  plashes, 

As  the  fisher  nears  shore,  with  his  Gaelic  orison  ; 
Till  in  sheltered  cove  he  lashes 

The  hooker,  that  sped  o'er  the  watery  horizon. 


DBUIMCAL  TEMPLE  NEAR  BOCAN  CULDAFF. 

when  these  mariners  gave  themselves  up  for  lost,  their  enchanted  island 
appeared  to  emerge  out  of  the  waters,  and  they  were  cast  on  shore  by 
the  violence  of  the  tempest.  The  first  object  which  appeared  to  their 
view  was  the  enchanted  castle  with  its  spell-bound  tenants.  The  sailors 
attempted  to  draw  a  sword  from  the  sheath  of  the  most  conspicuous 
image,  when  the  figure  motioned  them  away,  saying,  at  the  same  time 
the  day  had  not  yet  arrived  when  that  sword  was  to  be  drawn.  By  a 
strange  tissue  of  circumstances,  the  adventurers  were  enabled  to  gain 
their  homes  on  ths  coast  of  Donegal,  where  they  afterwards  related 
this  wild  and  romantic  story. 


MONSIGNOE  STEPHENS'.  393 

BEV,   MONSIGNOR  STEPHENS. 

This  genial  and  hospitable  parish  priest  was  for  many 
years  one  of  the  attractive  features  of  that  "  most  attractive 
of  sea-side  towns",  Killybegs. 

No  tourist  of  any  note,  who  visited  Western  Donegal, 
failed  to  receive  worthy  recognition,  or  was  permitted  to 
pass  through  Killybegs  without  partaking  of  Monsignor 
Stephen's  hospitality. 

Among  the  many  distinguished  clergy  of  the  Catholic 
Church  in  the  diocese  of  Raphoe,  Monsignor  Stephens 
occupied  a  high  place.  He  belonged  to  the  school  of 
cultivated  scholars,  and  he  earned  not  only  the  esteem  of 
his  co-religionists,  but  the  respect  of  all  others,  with  whom 
he  came  into  contact. 

Father  Stephens,  we  believe,  was  born  in  Ballyshannon 
in  the  early  years  of  the  present  century,  and  blessed  with 
a  robust  constitution,  he  reached  a  patriarchal  age. 

About  the  year  1856,  Father  Stephens,  then  parish  priest 
caused  to  be  erected  the  beautiful  Church  of  St.  Baithin 
at  St.  Johnston,  near  Deny. 

Father  James  Stephens  was  an  extensive  traveller,  he 
says — 

"  I've  travelled  in  the  east, 
I've  travelled  in  the  west, 
And  have  been  to  Alabama", 

And  also  to  Rome,  yet,  he  tells  us  "  he  saw  nothing  to 
surpass  the  natural  beauty  of  Glengesh",  that  well  known 
mountain  pass  in  Western  Tirconnell. 

Father  Stephens  was  the  author  of  a  handbook  entitled 

50 


394  INIS-OWBN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

The  Scenery  and  Antiquities  of  South-  Western  Donegal.1 
This  work  contains  references  of  great  local  interest  on  the 
history  and  antiquities  of  Western  Donegal. 

We  quote  from  Monsignor  Stephens  his  account  of  how 
he  became  possessed  of  one  of  the  chalices  that  for- 
merly belonged  to  the  Convent  of  Donegal ;  he  says : 
' '  The  Rev.  Mr.  Stephens  of  Killybegs,  has  also  recently  come 
into  possession  of  another  of  the  silver  chalices  connected 
with  the  Donegal  Convent,  with  following  inscription : 

Fr  Ant  0  Doherty  T  S.D.  procuravit 
H  Calicem  pro  usu  ff  m.s.n.frei 
Convts  Dongaliensis. 

[Brother  Anthony  O'Doherty,  Doctor  of  Sacred  Theo 
looy,  procured  this  Chalice  for  the  use  of  the  Friar-Minors 
of  our  community  in  the  Convent  of  Donegal.] 

"  This  Chalice  was  brought  to  America  in  1850  by  a 
young  priest  of  the  name  of  Donelly,  from  the  Diocese  of 
Clogher,  who  was,  a  few  years  ago,  accidentally  killed  on 
the  railway  near  Rochester,  in  the  State  of  New  York. 
Shortly  after  his  death  it  was  purchased  for  one  hundred 
dollars  by  the  Rev.  Edward  McGowan,  pastor  of  St. 
Michael's  Church,  Penn  U.S.,  who  kindly  presented  it  to 
Mr.  Stephens".2 

We  have  no  doubt  that  this  chalice  procured  by  Brother 
Anthony  O'Doherty  for  the  use  of  the  Friar-Minors  of  the 
Convent  of  Donegal  will  in  future  be  preserved  in  the 
Diocese  of  Raphoe,  as  a  precious  memento  of  the  historical 
convent  founded  by  Lady  Nuala  O'Donnell  in  1474. 

1  Dublin,  1872. 

2  Ibid,  p.  41-42. 


EDWARD  MCFADDEN.  395 

DONEGAL    CASTLE.1 

By  Buithe  (Jerome  Boyce  of  Donegal,  see  p.  249  ante.} 

"  There  stands  a  ruined  castle  by  the  winding  Eskey's  shore, 
Where  dwelt  the  Kinel  Conail  chiefs  in  happy  days  of  yore ; 
The  night  owl's  screech  alone  doth  break  the  silence  of  its  halls, 
And  desolation  reigns  supreme  within  its  ivied  walls. 

It  was  a  noble  pile,  I  ween,  when  dauntless  Hugh  reigned  there, 
And  at  its  princely  festive  board  sat  chiefs  and  ladies  fair ; 
Bright  lamps  illumed  its  lordly  halls,  and  pleasant  wit  went  round, 
And  stirring  songs  of  lore  and  war  made  court  and  keep  resound. 

And  bards  sat  there  with  flowing  beards  as  white  as  driven  snow, 
Whose  skilful  hands  from  golden  harps  made  magic  music  flow. 
To  wake  in  many  a  chieftain's  heart  the  Celtic  pride  of  yore 
Which  ne'er  could  brook  the  Saxon  rule  near  old  Tirconnell's  shore. 

Ay,  oft  beneath  these  hoary  walls  Tirconnell's  warriors  stood, 
Ready  for  homes  and  altars  free  to  shed  their  heart's  best  blood  ! 
Thence  marched  they  oft,  a  willing  host,  to  battle's  rudest  shock, 
With  closed  up  ranks  immovable — a  living  wall  of  rock  I  - 

Athboy  could  tell  a  tale  of  them — and  many  a  field  beside ; 
Their  day  among  the  Curlews — still  we  speak  of  it  with  pride ! 
Lifford,  Benburb,  the  Yellow  Ford,  throng  fast  to  memory  all— 
Ah!  these  were  times  when  men  were  men  in  gallant  Donegal. 

Yes !  yes !  Tirconnell  once  could  boast  of  those  as  true  and  brave 
As  ever  fought  for  liberty  or  filled  a  soldier's  grave ; 
And  even  yet  a  day  may  come  when  freedom's  thundering  call 
Will  rouse  once  more  from  lethargy  the  men  of  Donegal". 

EDWARD  MCFADDEN, 

Was  born  in  Glenswilly  about  46  years  ago,  he  commenced 
his  studies  for  the  priesthood  in  the  diocesan  school  at 
Stranorlar,  from  which  he  was  presented  with  a  place  in 
1  Young  Ireland,  p.  233,  Dublin,  1877, 


396  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

the  Propaganda  at  Rome  by  the  late  Primate  of  all  Ireland, 
Dr.  McGettigan,  who  was  then  Bishop  of  Raphoe.  Mr. 
McFadden  continued  his  studies  at  Rome  for  some  seven 
years.  Failing  health  caused  him  to  abandon  all  hope  of 
entering  the  priesthood,  consequently,  the  latter  part  of 
his  studies  were  devoted  to  arts  and  science.  He  obtained 
an  LL.D.  by  examination  before  leaving  Rome.  On 
his  return  to  Ireland,  Dr.  McGettigan  appointed  him 
Principal  of  the  High  School  at  Letterkenny,  where  he 
laboured  for  four  or  five  years. 

In  1871 ,  Dr.  McFadden  went  to  America,  where  in  the 
City  of  Brooklyn  he  devoted  himself  to  education,  and 
soon  became  one  of  the  most  popular  school  principals  in 
that  city.  His  literary  work  extended  over  many  public 
lectures,  he  also  displayed  considerable  ability  in  a  novel 
he  produced,  descriptive  of  Italian  scenery,  but  his  busy 
life  and  delicate  health  prevented  the  development  of  his 
literary  talent.  His  death  took  place  at  Brooklyn,  in 
December,  1890. 

THE   VALLEY  OF  FAHAN. 

[The  Rev.  John  Graham,  rector  of  Tamlaghtard,  who 
had  been  a  curate  in  Fahan,  wrote  the  two  following  poems, 
they  appear  in  a  volume  of  his  published  poems.]1, 

Oh !  there's  not  in  our  Island  a  vale  or  a  lawn, 
Like  this  lovely  recess  in  the  valley  of  Fahan ; 

1  Poems,  chiefly  Historical,  by  Kev.  John  Graham,  M.A.,  printed  by 
Stuart  and  Gregg,  Belfast,  sold  by  Wm,  Curry  Junr.  &  Co.,  Dublin,  1829 


THE  BOSOM   OF  FAHAN.  397 

Where  S willy's  dark  wave,  e'er  the  lark  leaves  her  nest, 
Reflects  in  brown  lustre,  the  wild  mountain's  crest.1 

Like  Auburn,  so  famed  in  our  Goldsmith's  sweet  song, 
Spring's  visits  are  early,  and  Summer's  are  long ; 
And  our  north  country  winter,  so  stern  and  severe, 
Relents  here  to  mildness  in  closing  the  year. 

O'er  the  lake  lies  Tirconnell,  to  the  west  far  away. 
Where  the  race  of  O'Donnel  once  bore  kingly  sway, 
And  here,  in  the  annals  of  Erin  well  known, 
Was  O'Doherty's  realm  of  old  Innishone. 

But  gone  are  the  days  of  O'Donnel  the  brave, 

And  the  valiant  O'Doherty  lies  in  his  grave ; 

While  the  strong  lines  of  beauty,  by  nature's  hand  drawn, 

Shine  blooming  and  fresh  in  the  valley  of  Fahan. 

Sweet  vale  of  repose  ;  may  thy  inmates  be  blessed, 
Both  here  and  hereafter,  with  comfort  and  rest ; 
May  the  blessings  they  wish  to  the  world  be  their  own, 
And  long  may  they  nourish  in  old  Innishone. 

FAKEWELL  TO  DONEGAL. 

Tis  doomed  for  man  to  part  his  friends, 

While  years  glide  fast  away, 
As  gloomy  shades  of  night  still  end 

The  longest  summer  day, 
So  time,  whose  slow,  though  silent  sway, 

Removes  and  levels  all, 

1  The  mountains,  over  the  Bosom  of  Fahan,  are  often  seen  reflected  in 
Lough  Swilly,  hence  the  name  given  to  the  Lough,  "The  Lake  of 
Shadows". 


398  INIS-OWEN    AND    TIRCONNELL 

Bring  round  the  day  when  I  must  say 
Farewell  to  Donegal. 

Fair  land,  where  hearts  of  heroes  glow, 

Of  honour  tried  and  true, 
Where'er  I  go  tow'rds  friend  or  foe, 
I'll  still  remember  you. 

Your  fair  demesnes,  your  verdant  plains, 

Your  mountains  rising  high, 
Your  glens  and  woods,  and  chrystal  floods 

Enchant  the  wondering  eye  — 
Here  Nature  smiles,  and  time  beguiles 

All  beauteous  and  sublime, 
While  manly  mind,  and  habits  kind, 
Give  silver  wings  to  time. 

Oh !  did  they  know,  who  from  thee  go 

The  land  they  leave  behind, 
To  foreign  shore  they  'd  fly  no  more, 
To  tranquilize  their  mind. 

Long,  long  may  peace  pervade  your  fields, 

And  plenty  crown  your  board, 
As  ocean's  stormy  billows  yields 

Her  wealth  to  swell  your  hoard. 
May  science  fair  with  worth  combine 

Your  son's  from  want  to  save, 
And  Independence  still  be  thine, 
•     The  birthplace  of  the  brave. 

Fair  land  where  hearts  of  heroes  glow, 

Of  honour  tried  and  true, 
Where  'er  I  go  tow  'rds  friend  or  foe, 
I'll  still  remember  you ! 


399 


GLENGOLAN. 

[The  following  verses  were  written  about  the  year  1864, 
by  the  Eev.  Bernard  McElDowney,  then  P.P.  of  Fahan. 
They  are  addressed  to  the  Golan,  one  of  the  picturesque 
hills  that  shelters  on  the  north,  the  "  B  osom  of  Fahan". 
On  the  summit  of  this  hill  lie  scattered  the  stones  that 
once  formed  a  prehistoric  rath  or  fortress.  There  is  an  in- 
teresting account  of  the  King  of  Ireland  and  St.  Mura, 
given  in  one  of  the  Irish  Archaeological  and  Celtic 
Society's  publications.1  Under  the  year  605,  when  Aedh 
Uairidhnach  began  to  reign,  it  tells  of  how,  as  a  royal 
prince  he  had  visited  Fahan-Mura,  and  had  washed  his 
hands  in  the  river,  which  is  in  the  middle  of  the  town. 
"  OcAiti  Anirn  tiA  tiAbArm  Af  UAICC  Airnn  151:1)1  ATI  bAile.  1, 
OcAin" — "  Othain  is  the  name  of  the  river;  and  it  is  from 
it  the  town  is  named  Othain  [or  Fathain],  Rlnn-riA-pAnli, 
the  '  promontory  of  the  rath'  or  Fahan  Point  still  retains 
its  ancient  name,  and  is  the  western  extremity  of  the 
Golan  hill.]2 

The  evening  was  fine  and  the  sun  fast  descended, 
The  breezes  were  hushed  and  the  welkin  serene ; 

In  verdure  the  landscape  lay  widely  extended, 
And  Nature  in  loveliness  painted  the  scene. 

1  Three  Fragments,  translated  from  copy  of  Dultach  McFirbia,  by 
O'Donovan,  pp.  11-17.  Dublin,  1860. 

-  It  was  to  the  Cairn  on  the  top  of  the  Golan  Hill  that  Toland  refers  to  in 
his  History  of  the  Druids,  p.  115,  published  at  Montrose  in  1814 — he  says 
"  I  remember  one  of  thoie  cairns  on  Fawn  (Fahan-Hill)  some  miles  from 
Londonderry,  known  by  no  other  name  thtn  Bealteine,  facing  another 
such  cairn  on  the. top  of  Inch-Hill  opposite".  "  Toland  considered  these 
cairns  to  be  Druidical",  but  that  they  may  have  been  places  on  which 
beacon  fires  were  lighted  is  more  than  probable. — W.J.D. 


400  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

The  streamlets  that  filtered  so  clear  from  the  mountain, 
Called  lofty  Glengolan,  chief  theme  of  their  song, 

So  sparkling  and  pleasing  the  flow  of  each  fountain, 
All  limpid  and  lovely  meandered  along. 

Glengolan,  thy  forehead  has  long  been  withstanding, 

The  shock  of  the  tempest  and  gust  of  the  gale, 
Thy  towering  summit,  majestic,  commanding 

A  view  of  the  grandeurs  of  North  Inisfail. 
Thy  slopes  are  embower'd,  and  mantled  sublimely, 

Bedecked  like  a  bride  in  her  hey-day  of  bloom ; 
Thy  arbours  reflected  in  Swilly  divinely, 

Still  shelter  thy  valleys  mid  tempest  and  gloom. 

Sweet  hill  of  the  fountains,  thy  fame  and  thy  form 

Glide  peerless  and  pure  down  the  current  of  time, 
Still  baffling  the  strength  of  the  pitiless  storm, 

Thy  praises  are  chaunted  in  pastoral  rhyme. 
Thou  art  mild  in  the  morning,  thy  aspect  so  hoary 

Yet  stand  eth  unshaken  when  elements  war, 
Thou  hast  witnessed  achievements  recorded  in  story, 

Thy  heath  covered  peak  is  seen  from  afar. 

Beneath  lies  the  Swilly  in  beauty  expanded, 

Reposing  in  peace,  though  the  winter  winds  blow, 

Where  bright  in  the  blue  waves  reflected  and  blended, 
The  island  and  mountains  are  seen  from  below.1 

Oh !  Swilly,  in  raptures  I  think  of  the  glory, 
That  history  tells  of  the  deeds  of  the  brave, 

»  This  also  refers  to  the  reflections  of  the  mountains   of  Fahan  and 
the  island  of  Inch  seen  in  Lough-Swilly,  "  The  Lake  of  Shadows". 


MISCELLANY. 


401 


Whose  fame,  like  their  shields,  unrivalled  in  story, 
Once  shone,  clear  and  fair,  on  thy  crystalline  wave. 

Thy  water  historic,  that  rolls  round  Tyrconnell, 

Seems  to  echo  the  murmurs  that  break  on  the  shore, 
And  the  night  breezes  whisper  the  name  of  O'Donnell, 

And  sigh  for  those  heroes  alas  !  now  no  more. 
Royal  Greenan  of  Aileach,  the  piide  of  past  ages, 

You  stand  as  the  Tara  of  old  Inis-Owen, 
Whose  moss- covered  ruins  in  history's  pages 

Yet  sparkle  still  new  with  a  lustre  their  own. 

Farewell,  peaceful  valley,  whose  bosom  enshrines, 
The  dust  and  the  ashes  of  heroes  long  dead, 

Where  prelates  and  abbots  and  sainted  divines, 
Are  sleeping  the  sleep,  in  their  last  narrow  bed. 

Again  may  you  witness  the  bright  hallowed  dawn 
Of  ages  of  faith  that  illumined  your  sky, 

That  shining  once  beamed,  from  the  altars  of  Fahan, 

Like  a  halo  of  glory,  rayed  from  on  high. 


THE  GOLAN-HILL  AND  BOSOM  OF  PAUAN. 


402 


INIS-OWEN  ANB  TIRCONNELL. 


THE   BACUULL-MUBA, 

Or  Crozier  of  St.  Mura,  of  Fahan,  now  among  the  Royal 
Irish  Academy's  collection,  in  the  Museum  of  Science  and 
Art,  Dublin ;  formerly  occupied  a  distinguished  place 
among  the  relics  of  Irish  Saints.  In  Colgan's  time  he  says 


DONEGAL    POETS,  403 

"it  was  preserved  as  a  most  sacred  treasure  enclosed  in  a 
gilded  case,  and  adorned  with  gems".1 

DONEGAL  POETS. 
MAOLMUIRE   MAC  AN  BHAIRD. 

Maolmuire,  i.e.  (Servant  of  Mary),  son  of  Conula  Mac  an 
Bhaird,  was  a  Donegal  poet  who  flourished  towards  the 
end  of  the  16th  century.2 

Mac  an  "Ward's  poem  on  the  imprisonment  of  Hugh  Roe 
O'Donnell,  a  youth  whose  fame,  to  use  the  words  of  the 
Four  Masters,  "  had  spread  throughout  the  five  provinces 
of  Ireland",  was  written  during  the  time  of  his  captivity  in 
Dublin  Castle.  The  account  of  his  treacherous  capture, 
deliberated  upon  by  the  Lord  Justice  and  Council  in 
Dublin,  was  carried  out  by  means  of  an  English 
vessel,  styled  by  John  Mitchell  "  black  hatched  decep- 
tive", commanded  by  a  Dublin  merchant  name  John 
Bermingham,  who  had  with  him  a  crew  of  fifty  armed  men. 
In  A.D.,  1 587,  this  vessel  laden  with  wine  and  beer  "put  in  at 
the  old  harbour  of  Swilly,  opposite  Rathmullan,  a  castle 
erected  on  the  margin  of  the  sea,  some  time  before,  by 
MacSweeney  Fanad,  who  had  been  one  of  the  generals  of 
the  lords  of  Tirconnell  from  a  remote  period".3  A  party 
of  the  crew  landed  under  the  guise  of  merchants  and  began 
to  spy,  and  to  explore  the  country,  selling  the  wine  and  in- 
toxicating the  people.  Hugh  Roe,  who  was  then  but 

1  See  Ante,  p.  284. 

2  Four  Masters ;  also  MitchePs  Life  of  Hugh  O'Neill,  p.  75-76,  Dublin, 
1845. 

3  Ada   Sanctorum  Hibernice,  x'n.  Marti,  p.  5S7:  sec   also, 
R.I.A,,  2nd  Ser.,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  98-99. 


404  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

fifteen  years  of  age,  happening  to  be  in  the  neighbourhood, 
along  with  some  companions,  went  on  a  thoughtless  excur- 
sion to  see  the  supposed  Spanish  ship,  for  the  vessel  had  been 
sailing  under  Spanish  colours.  Having  arrived  at  Rathmul- 
lan,  he  was  welcomed  by  MacSweeney  and  the  other  chief- 
tains, who  sent  their  people  to  the  ship  for  wine  to  entertain 
their  guest.  The  object  Sir  John  Perrott,  Lord  Deputy, 
and  his  Irish  Council  had  in  view,  was  now  almost  within 
their  grasp,  The  English  kidnappers  told  MacSweeney 's 
messengers  that  they  had  no  more  wine  remaining  unsold, 
but  if  a  small  party  of  gentlemen  visited  the  ship  they 
would  be  hospitably  entertained. 

MacSweeney  felt  ashamed  of  his  inability  to  entertain 
his  guest,  and  decided  upon  inviting  Hugh  O'Donnell  to 
visit  the  ship. 

Having  rowed  over  to  the  ship  they  were  welcomed  by 
those  on  board,  taken  below  to  the  cabin  and  there  atten- 
tively served.  The  door  of  the  hatch  was  closed,  and 
their  arms  stolen  from  them.  The  machinators  of  this 
treachery,  after  having  hauled  in  their  anchor,  at  once 
sailed  with  the  current  of  the  tide  till  they  reached  the  sea 
and  landed  in  the  harbour  of  Dublin.  There  he  was  put 
into  the  Birmingham  Tower  of  the  Castle  of  Dublin,  where 
many  other  Milesian  nobles  were  in  chains  and  captivity.1 

Before  treating  of  the  poem  of  Maolmuire  Mac  an  Bhaird, 
we  shall  include  in  the  list  of  Donegal  writers  some  other 
poets,  whose  names  have  not  been  pro viously  recorded  by  us, 
i.e.,  FEARGAL  MAC  DONNAILL  RUAID  MAC  AN  BHAIRD  of 
Tirconnell  (Feargal  son  of  Donnell  Roe),  "  a  learned  poet,  a 

1  Annals  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland,  Edited  by  John  O' Donovan,  vol. 
iii.,  pp.  1859-65,  Dublin,  1848. 


DONEGAL  POETS.  405 

superintendent  of  schools,  and  a  man  of  great  name  and 
renown  throughout  Ireland,  who  kept  a  house  of  general 
hospitality  died".1 

MAC  CON  O'CLERY,  a  northern  poet,  about  the  year 
1600,  wrote  a  poem  in  praise  of  the  O'Neills  beginning, 
"SeAtb  e-iyuonn  Aig  Aicme  lleilt",  "The  possession  of 
Erin  belongs  to  Nialls  race".-  It  contains  two  hundred  and 
thirty-six  verse  lines,  it  was  written  in  the  time  of  Torlogh 
Luineach  O'Neill,  the  s.on  of  Niall  Conallagh,  son  of  Art 
(not  Turlough  the  son  of  Henry,  son  of  Felina  Roe  O'Neill 
who  guided  the  Lord  Justice  and  the  English  into  Tyrone 
in  1597),  "  who  bestowed  wealth  and  riches  upon  the 
learned".  The  Turlogh  for  whom  the  poem  was  written 
died  at  Strabane,  in  1595  and  was  interred  at  Ardstraw,3 
copies  of  this  poem  are  in  the  R.I.  A.  O'CLERY,  chief  of 
his  tribe,  who  flourished  at  the  same  period,  wrote  a  poem 
in  praise  of  St.  Francis,  founder  of  the  order  of  Franciscans, 
the  order  that  dwelt  at  the  Convent  of  Donegal;  it  begins 
"  *Oo  CAicpnn  CAJIA  cjunce",4  "  From  whence  the  white 
friend  of  prudence". 

Cu-UiAiDH  MAC-AN-BHAIRD,  a  retainer  of  the  chiefs  of 
Tirconnell,  who  flourished  about  1600,  wrote  an  elegy  on 
the  death  of  Graine,  sister  of  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell,  and 
wife  of  Art  Og,  son  of  Torlogh  Luineach  O'Neill,  consist- 
ing of  two  hundred  verse  lines,  beginning  "  £111  jeAtt 
yoj\iT)uit>  put  t)AlAi5",  "Remnant  of  the  envy  of  noble 
Daly's  blood''.  This  much  admired  young  lady  died  of  the 

1  O'Donovan's  F.M.,  A.D.  1550. 

2  O'Reilly's  Writers,  p.  clvii. 

3  O'Reilly's  Writers,  p.  clviii. 

.,  Vol.  HI.,  p.  1985- 


406  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELLr. 

measles  at  Ballyshannon  a  short  time  after   her  marriage.1 
Copy  in  the  R.I.  A. 

FEARGAL  OG  MAOAN-BHAIRD,  about  this  time  wrote 
several  poems.2 

1.  A  poem  in  praise  of  the  Magennis's,  Lords  of  Ibh- 
Eathach  (Iveagh),  consisting  of  three  hundred  verse  lines, 
beginning   "  Wbcjojic  pneAmtiA  -pint  1p",   "A  garden  of 
vines,  the  race  of  Ir". 

2.  A  poem  on  the  people  of  Scotland  renouncing  the  reli- 
gion of  their  forefathers,  denying  the  real  presence  of  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Blessed  Sacrament.     This  poem 
consists  of  one  hundred  and   four  verse   lines,   beginning 
'OupfAn  m'eAct>|AA  50  h  Album",  "  Sorrowful  my  journey 
to  Alban  (Scotland)". 

3.  A  poem  of  one  hundred  and  four  verse  lines,  begin- 
ning "t)e  ATI  rung  At>  ftA^  uAim  50  li'dfAinn",  "  West  from 
me  blessings  to  Ireland".     This  poem  was  written  during 
the  stay  of  the  poets  in  Scotland,  and  in  it  he  repeats  the 
toeAnnuJAt)  ^Benediction)  which  he  addresses  to  different 
persons  in  Ireland,    particularly   to   Magennis,   Lord    of 
Tveagh. 

Poems  4,  5,  and  6  are  each  extensive,  on  such  subjects 
as  the  Milesians,  the  O'Neills,  and  the  decendants  of 
Niall  of  the  Nine  Hostages. 

7.  Is  a  poem  of  one  hundred  and  forty-eight  verse-lines, 
on  the  death  of  Edmond,  son  Maolmuire  Mac  Suibhne, 
chief  of  the  MacSweeneys  of  West  Munster,  who  were  a 


1  O'Reilly's  Irish  Writers,  p.  clix. 

1  We  are  unable  to  say  if  this  is  the  same  Feargal-Og,  mentioned  at 
p.  284,  ante  or  not,  but  this  author  is  placed  under  X.D.,  1600,  by  O'Reilly, 


DONEGAL  POETS.  407 

branch  of  the  Mac  Suibhne  of  Donegal,  the  poem  begins 
*'  CiAA-oeiji  5U|Aimci5  e-Amonn",  "  Who  says  that  Edmond 
is  gone". 

8.  A  poem  condemnatory  of  contracting  friendship. 

9.  A  poem  of  one  hundred  and  twelve  verse  lines,  writ- 
ten on  the  accession  of  James  I.  to  the  crowns  of  England 
Ireland  and  Scotland,  beginning    "  UJM  copoine  A  CCAIJIC 
SeniAi-p",  "Three  crowns  in  the  Charter  of  James". 

10.  Two  hundred  and  seventy  six  verse  lines,  composed 
on  the  death  of  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell,  who  after  the  defeat  of 
Kinsale,  on  the  3rd  January,  1602,  retired  to  Spain,  where, 
he  died  on  the  10th  September  of  that  year,  after  a  short 
illness.1     The  poem  begins  "  UeAfOA  Gipe  f  Af\  exvpbAin", 
"  Erin  died  in  Spain".3 

EOGHAN  ROE    MAOAN-BHAIRD  (Red   Owen  Ward), 
who  followed  Red  Hugh    O'Donnell  into  exile,  wrote: — 

1.  An  address  to  this  prince  upon  his  voyage  to  Spain. 
It  consists  of  one  hundred  verses  lines,  beginning  "  Rob 

c'eAcw^A  A  Aot>   puATo",  "  Prosperous    was    thy 
Oh !  Red  Hugh". 

2.  A  poem  of  ninety-two  verse  lines,  on  Roderick,  son 
of  Hugh,  son  of  Manus  O'Donnell,  on  the  occasion  of  his 
journey  to  Dublin,  and  entrusting  himself  in  the  hands  of 
the  English,  after  the  death  of  his  brother  Red  Hugh,  Prince 

1  We  understand  the  cause  of  his  death  will  be  fully  treated  in  a  Life 
of  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell,  by  Rev.  Denis  Murphy,  S.J.,  about  to  be  pub- 
lished.   (Dublin,  1893).     In  the  prose  \vriting3  of  Thomas  Davis,  edited 
by  T.   W.   Rolleston,  appears   at   p.   230.—"  1G02,    September,   Aodh 
O'Donnell  poisoned  at   Simancas  in  Spain  by  contrivance  of  Carew, 
President  of  Munster". 

2  O'Reilly's  Writers,  p.  clxi. 


408  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

of  Tirconnell,  who  died  in  Spain.  It  begins  "  "OAHA  An 
cujiAf  cfiiAVlcAjA  form",  "  Bold  the  journey  that  has  been 
undertaken  here". 

3.  The   celebrated  elegy  on  the  death  of  Red  Hugh 
O'Donnell,  Prince  of  Tirconnell,  consisting  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty-six  verse  lines,  beginning,  "  -A  toeAti  ^UAIJI  -paill 
AIJA  An  •ppe&ju;1',  "  Oh,  woman  who  found  society  in  the 
grave". 

In  this  poem,  Owen  Roe  recites  the  noble  actions  of  his 
hero,  and  shows  that  his  death  is  cause  of  grief  to  Erin 
*'  from  sea  to  sea". 

4.  A  poem    of  fifty-two   verse  lines  upon  Red  Hugh 
O'Neill,  Earl  of  Tyrone,  whom  the  northern  Irish  looked  up 
to  as  their  leader  against  the  English,  after  the  death  of 
Red  Hugh  O'Donnell.      The  Author  says,  this  chief  was 
foretold  by  St.  Columbkille  and  St.  Adamnan  (St.  Eunan), 
conse  quently  he  was  welcomed  as  the  worthy  successor  of 
the  heroic  Prince  of  Tirconnell.     The  first  line  of  the  poem 
begins,  "  CIA  -pe  topAitce  peAnn   Gi|\ne",  "Who  does  the 
host  of  Erne  welcome  ?" 

5.  Eulogium  on  Rory,  son  of  Rory,  son  of  Maolmordha 
McSweeny,  of  one  hundred  and  ninety-two    verse  lines, 
beginning  "  bonn  AII  pie  pol  SuVbne",  "  The  prop  of  the 
poet  the  race  of  Suibhne". 

6.  An  address  to  Niall    Garbh  O'Donnell,  who  was  im- 
prisoned during  the  reign  of  James  1  st  in  the  Tower  of 
London.     It  consists  of  ninety-two  verse  lines,  beginning 
"A  bjAAi^e  AUA  A  ucoj\  t>on-oon",  "  Oh,  captive thou  art  in 
London's  Tower". 

7.  On    the    imprisonment     of    Neachtan    and    Aodh 
O'Donnell  by  the  English,  ninety-two  verse  lines  begin- 


DONEGAL  POETS.  409 


ning  a  triAips  !  Af  bjiAi^e  Ap  itiAcji<M-6  mujVb<M'o",  "Alas 
captive  are  the  sons  of  sorrow". 

8.  Elegy  on  the  death  of  Rory  O'Donnell,  Earl  of  Tir- 
conell,  who  sailed  away  from  Rathmullan  in  September, 
1607,   and  who  died    in  Rome   on  the    8th  July,  1608. 
This  poem  begins  "tTlAic  An  fe<\l<yo  fUAijt  d^ie",  "  Erin 
found  good  for  a  time". 

9.  Poem  on  Hugh,  son  of  Rory  O'Donnell,  second  Earl 
of  Tirconnell  consisting  of  two  hundred  and  eight  verse 
lines,  beginning  "  pogu-p  JTUJIUACC  Don  CIJA  CUATO",  "Near 
is  comfort  to  the  north  country",1      Copies  of  the  first  five 
poems  are  in  the  R.I.  A.,  and  of  the  last  four,  were  in  the 
library  of  Rev.  Doctor  O'Brien  in  1820. 

S.  MAC  COLGAX,  wrote  a  poem  on  the  journey  of  Art 
son  of  Tuiiogh  O'Neill,  to  London,  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty  verse  lines,  beginning  "  Hob  -po^ATo  AH  f  eA'or'A 
foip",  *'  Happy  is  the  eastern  road".  This  poem  is  also 
ascribed  to  Owen  Roe,  son  of  William  Mac-an-Bhaird.2 

CONOR  ROE  MAC-AN  BHAIRD,  is  placed  by  O'Reilly,  as 
a  poet  who  nourished  about  the  year  1605,  a  copy  of  his 
poem  on  the  death  of  Aodh  (Hugh)  O'Donnell,  in  in  the 
R.I.  A.  Containing  two  hundred  verse  lines,  begins  "  Cionn<vp 
ace  e-ipegAn  -dot>",  "  How  comes  Erin  without  Aodh". 

ANGUS  MAC  MARCUS,  a  contemporary  poet,  was  author 
of  a  poem  on  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell's  voyage  to  Spain,  con- 
sisting of  forty-eight  verse  lines  —  beginning  "  A  nochc  Af 
UAigneAc  6-i]\e",  "To-night  Erin  is  desolate".3 

AODH  O'DOXNELL,  one  of  the  poets  who  joined  in  the 

1  O'Reilly's  Irish  Writers,  p.  clxii. 

2  Ibid  p.  clxiii. 

*  O'lteilly  's  Writers,  p.  clxvii. 

52 


410  INIS-OWEN   AND  TIRCONNELL. 

'  Contention  of  the  Bards',1  in  1607,  wrote  a  poem  of  four 
hundred  and  thirty-six  verse  lines  in  defence  of  Leath 
Chum  (or  Conn's  half)  against  the  attacks  of  Mac  Daire. 
The  poem  begins  "  TDeAf  A  t>o  CAJ^Aif  A  diAit^,  "  Worse 
liast  thou  argued,  oh,  Teige". 

TEIGE  DALL  O'HiGGiN  flourished  about  the  year  1610, 
he  was  brother  to  Maolmuire,  Archbishop  of  Tuam. 
Though  a  poet  of  the  County  Sligo,  his  poetry  extended 
into  Tirconnell.  He  wrote  an  address  to  Hugh,  son  of 
Manus  O'Donnell,  on  his  going  to  Connaught,  containing 
two  hundred  and  twenty -four  verse  lines,  beginning,  '"OiA 
•ootoeACAAmeictTlliAJnAif",  "  Hail!  son  of  Manus".  Also 
a  poem  in  praise  of  the  Castle  of  Lifford,  and  of  the  son  of 
O'Donnell  and  his  wife,  the  daughter  of  John  O'Neill,  con- 
sisting of  forty-four  verse  lines,  beginning  "  lonrhum  bAile 
bfui5"h  leicbiyi",  "Beloved  seat,  fair  LifFord's  Castle".2 

He  also  wrote  an  epigram  on  the  Clan  Mac-an-Bhaird, 
and  two  poems  in  praise  of  the  Mac  Sweeneys.  O'Reilly 
gives  a  list  of  nineteen  poems  by  this  author,  all  of  which 
arc  worthy  of  examination.^ 

Under  the  year  1620,  O'Reilly  places  CUCOIGCRICHE 
grandson  of  CONN  O'CLERY.  He  was  bard  to  the 

O 

O'Donnells,  and  wrote — : 

1.  On  Rory  O'Donnell  being  created  first  Earl  of  Tir- 

1  See  p.  287,  ante. 

-  ftis  last  poem  was  one  of  bitter  satire  on  the  tribe  of  O'Hara,  who 
had  invaded  his  house,  they  felt  the  insolence  of  his  satire  so  keenly  that 
they  returned  and  committed  an  act  of  barbarity,  by  cutting  out  the 
poet's  tongue,  from  which  lie  died.  They  were  tried  by  inquisition  at 
Sligo,  30th  June,  1617,  and  attainted  of  the  murder,  etc.  O'Reilly's 
Irish  Writers,  p.  clxx. 

3  O'Reilly's  Writers,  pp.  clxx-clxxiv. 


DONEGAL  POEMS.  411 

connell,  a  poem  of  nineteen  ranns,  each  consisting  of  eight 
verses,  beginning  "  Hug  cobAiyi  A1]\  ConAlA-cAito,  ciig  ArfiAn 
AIJ\  eA-pccAiiA-oito",  "  Power  has  come  to  the  Conallians, 
terror  has  seized  on  their  enemies". 

2.  A  poem  on  the  long  and  peaceful  life  of  Torlogh, 
son  of  Cathbharr  O'Donnell,  who  at  the  time  the  author 
wrote  the  poem  had  attained  his  seventieth  year.  It 
contains  one  hundred  and  sixty-eight  verse  lines,  beginning 
"tT1o  rnAttAcc  ope,  A  fAOJAit!1  "My  curse  on  thee,  oh 
world !"  Copies  in  R.I.A. 

EOCHAIDH  O'HEOGHUSA,  flourished  about  1630,  as 
appears  by  his  poem  on  O'Donnell,  second  Earl  of  Tircon- 
nell.  He  was  chief  poet  to  Maguire,  and  began  his  career 
as  a  poet  when  he  was  a  youth  in  1593.  O'Reilly  says, 
"  Many  of  his  poems  have  much  merit,  and  none  of  them 
are  contemptible".  The  list  includes  twenty-eight  poems, 
we  only  extract  notices  of  those  relating  to  Donegal. 

I.  A  poem  of  two  hundred  and  twenty -eight  verse  lines, 
on    the    elevation  of  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell  to  the  chief- 
taincy of  Tirconnell,    after  his    escape  from  captivity   in 
Dublin   Castle,  during  the   last  week  of  December,  1592; 
it  begins  '"Oiot  -pUACA  ytAicioy  CipeArm",  "  A  reward  ex- 
citing hatred  is  the  sovereignty  of  Erin". 

II.  An  historical   poem    (called  "very    beautiful"  by 
O'Reilly)  in  praise  of  Owen  Og  Me  Sweeney,  the  son  of 
Margaret,  daughter  of  Aoclh  O'Donnell,  chief  of  Tircon- 
nell.    It  consists  of  two  hundred  and  thirty-six  verse  lines, 
beginning  "  Roirm  teice  A1}\  A  nt>UAin   Gh]\e<Min",     ';  The 
uneasiness  of  Ireland  is  divided''. 

1  SAO£AL,  also  moans— a  man's  life.  ;  a  generation. 


412  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

18.  Two    hundred    and   sixteen    verse    lines    on    the 
O'Donnells,  beginning  "  Hi  corhqAorn  COJA-O  bAnW,  "Not 
equal  is  the  war  of  Banbha  (Ireland)". 

19.  Forty-four  verse  lines    on  O'Donnell,  Earl  of  Tir- 
connell,    beginning  "1onriio1cA   mAtAi]Au   bipg",  "Com- 
mendable the  exchange  of  profit".      The  author  was  an 
extensive  writer  on  various  subjects.1 

CUCOIGCRICHE  O'CLERY  wrote  in  Irish  the  life  of  Hugh 
Roe  O'Donnell,  the  original  is  now  in  the  library  of  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy,  where  there  is  also  a  translation  into 
English,  almost  complete,  by  Edward  O'Reilly.2 

The  Re v.Denis  Murphy,  S.J.  has  just  published  a  valuable 
quarto,  containing  the  original  Irish  text  by  O'Clery,  with 
notes  and  translation.3 

CUCOIGCRICHE  (son  of  Toole  btim1ie.)    O'DUIGEANAN, 

i  O'Reilly's  Writers,  pp.  clxxxiii — clxxxv. 

*  The  translation  of  O'Clery's  Irish  text  of  the  Life  of  Red  Hugh 
O'Donnell,  was  almost  completed  before  1820  by  Edward  O'Reilly,  author 
of  an  Irish-English  Dictionary,  and  Irish  Writtrs.  It  was  O'Reilly's  trans- 
lation that  John  Mitchell  used  in  his  Life  of  Hugh  O'Neill,  and  it  was 
from  that  rendering  (p.  4,)  Mitchell  quoted  the  famous  picture  in  four 
words  of  the  "  bark,  black-hatched  deceptive,"  that  fully  describes  for 
all  time  the  treacherous  vessel  "  with  a  murderous  drunken  crew, 
sent  by  the  English  from  Dublin  to  Lough  Swilly  to  capture  Red.Hugh 
O'Donnell.  (Life  of  Hugh  O'Neill,  p.  7«,  Dublin,  1845).  Students  of  Irish 
History  ought  to  read  Mitchell's  Life  of  Hugh  O'Neill,  and  Father 
Murphy's  Life  of  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell. 

3  The  Life  oj  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell,  by  Lughaidh  O'Clery,  translation 
etc,  by  Rev.  Denis  Murphy,  S.J.,  Dublin,  1893.  It  should  be  noted  that 
O'Reilly  gives  CCCOOHRY,  the  son  of  Lughaidh,  as  the  writer  of  the  Life 
of  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell,  (O'Reilly's  Writers,  p.  cxc.),  whilst  O'Curry 
says,  "  it  was  probably  that  known  at  the  present  day  as  The  Life  of 
Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell  written  by  Lughaidh  O'Clery".  Fr.  Murphy  says, 
''the  scribe  was  his  son  Cucogry".  Editor's  preface,  p.  iv. 


DONEGAL   POETS.  413 

one  of  the  writers  of  the  A  finals  of  the  Four  Masters,  was 
author  of  a  poem  on  Teighe  O'Rody's  return  from  London, 
beginning  "Aoin  fdAc  copiAm  TIA  cceAlt",  "  Only  pro- 
tecting shield  of  the  churches". 

OWEN  ROE  MAC-AN-BHAIRD,  a  Franciscan  friar  who  is 
placed  by  O'Reilly  under  the  year  1640,  was  the  author  of 
several  poems,  chiefly  religious,  and  one  on  receiving  the 
news  of  young  O'Donnell's  return,  consisting  of  sixteen 
verse  lines,  beginning  "  lonriiuni  f^utterm  f^Aoilceojt 
•punn",  "  Pleasant  news  reported  here". 

SOMHAIRLE  MAC-AN-BHAIRD  is  placed  by  O'Reilly 
under  the  year  1 649,  as  appears  from  the  last  rann  but 
one  of  his  elegy  on  the  death  of  Hugh  Buidhe  O'Donnell, 
who  died  in  that  year.  The  poem  contains  two-hundred 
and  eighty  verse  lines,  beginning  "  HeAjAC  JAG  dpe  <M|1 
dfi  chonAilt",  The  energy  of  every  country  is  in  Tirconnell- 

FEARGAL  OG  MAC-AN-BHAIRD,  lived  about  the  year 
1 655,  and  was  the  author  of  five  poems  that  have  been 
preserved. 

1.  An  elegy  on  the  death  of  John  O'Donnell,  who  in  the 
poem  is  stated  to  have  died  in  the  year  1655.     It  contains 
two-hundred  and  thirty-two  verse  lines,  beginning  "  T)o  coi  ji 
ne<v6  ceAnnuf  clArm  Coumn",  "  The  authority  of  the  sons 
of  Conn  was  raised". 

2.  One-hundred  and  sixty  verse  lines  on  the  decendants 
of  Ir,  particularly]  on  the  Magennises.     The  poem  begins 
"1piA\,  cotbnAC  ctomne  h1]V.  "Irial  treasure  of  the  sons 
oflr". 

3    A  poem  on  the  family  of  O'Ferrall  of  the  race  oflr. 

4.  A  poem  of  two-hundred   and  forty-eight  verse  lines, 

on  the  O'DonnelTs,  particularly  Calbhach,  son  of  Manus, 


414  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 


beginning  "Ujieom  An  ceAnntcp  cUnn  TUlAis",  "  Powerful 
the  authority  of  the  Clann  Dalaigh". 

5.  On  Dominick  O'Donnell,  a  poem  of  two-hundred 
and  forty-eight  verse  lines,  beginning  "  ^Aibte  PO-OLA 
puil  ChonAiU,",  "  Props  ofFodhta  (one  of  the  names  given 
to  Ireland,)  are  the  race  of  Conall". 

DERMOT,  SON  OF  LEWIS  (or  Lughy?)  MAC-AN- 
BHAIRD,  was  a  writer  who  lived  about  1690,  as  appears 
from  a  poem  by  OWEN  O'DoNNELLY,  beginning  "  1f  nAft 
An  fseul-pA  ceAc-o  -OA  ^15",  "  Bad  is  this  news  that  came 
to  your  house".  He  is  placed  by  O'Reilly  as  having  being 
a  native  of  the  Co.  Down. 

PATRICK  OG  MAC-AN-BHAIRD,  who  flourished  about 
the  year  1696,  was  the  author  of  two  poems  that  have  been 
preserved. 

1.  A  poem  of  one-hundred  and  thirty-six  verse  lines, 
descriptive  of  Fiodhnagh  of  Magh-rein  (Fenagh  on  the 
plain  of  Rein)1   in  the  County  of   Leitrim  the  ancient 
patrimony  of  the   O'Rody's  :     This  poem  is  an  eulogium 
on  Teige  O'Rody,  chief  of  his  tribe,  who  it  appears  left 
Fenagh,  his  paternal  inheritance,  in  1689  ;  it  contains  one- 
hundred    and   thirty-six   verse  lines,  beginning   "A    p|t 
6Ai|Voit  ctipce  chumt>",  "  Oh  !  man  who  travelled  over  the 
country  of  Conn",  i.  e.  "  Ireland". 

2.  A  poem  of  one-hundred  and  eighty-six  verse  lines 
on   Maolmuire   McSween.ey,    beginning    "  Cuit>  ftonnA  A 
nAiVbuAin  e-ijieAnn",  "  Part  of  the  shares  of  Erin's  trouble". 
Teige  O'Rody  of  Crossfield,  Co.   Leitrim,  was  a  famous 
scholar,  skilled  in  Irish,  Greek,  and  Latin. 

RANDAL  MCDONALD,  a  poet  of  the  County  of  Donegal, 

1  Book  of  Fenagh,  pp.  251-261,  Dublin,  1876. 


DONEGAL  POETS.  415 

is  put  down  by  O'Reilly  under  the  year  1700.  The  first 
lines  of  five  poems  were  sent  to  O'Reilly  by  the  Rev. 
Paul  O'Brien,  Professor  of  the  Irish  Language  in  the 
College  of  St.  Patrick,  Maynooth,  who  was  a  most  ardent 
collector  of  Irish  writings.  Of  what  became  of  his  library 
after  his  death,  on  the  20th  May,  1820,  we  have  no  infor- 
mation. Let  us  hope  it  may  have  been  preserved  in  the 
College  of  Maynooth.  The  subjects  on  which  the  first 
lines  here  quoted  were  not  mentioned  to  O'Reilly.  How- 
ever the  poems  begin  as  follows  :  — 

"  1.  A  cAOirh  |Mg  AH  cfoluif,  AH  b|AoU,<M5  §it  i 


2.  "  Ufte  cuirte  5  An  utn-ptete 

3.  "  "Oo  j^ece  AUA  cAtin  Af  me  yAnn  te 

4.  "  A  Uhoi|i]A'6eA'L'bvM5  vn  HeitA,,  olAxxrh  HA  cceutt". 

5.  "t)ei|\beAnriAcc5OCApAi5UAiiTi  fio^^o  cip  ConAitV. 
From  the  dawning  of  the  18th  century  the  bards  and  writers 

of  Donegal  were  scattered  among  other  counties  ;  we 
find  in  the  County  of  Cavan,  THOMAS  O'CLERY  becoming 
the  poet  of  the  O'Reilly's,  and  two  poems  of  his  appear  in 
O'Reilly's  Writers  under  the  year  1715.  BRIAN  RABHAGH 
O'CLERY,  a  native  of  Moybologue,  has  two  poems  men- 
tioned by  O'Reilly  under  the  year  1730,  whilst  the  RIGHT 
REV.  JAMES  O'GALLAGHKR,  Bishop  of  Raphoe,  trans- 
lated to  Kildare,  flourished  up  till  the  year  1751.' 

EDWARD  O'REILLY,  Asssistant  Secretary  to  the  IBERNO- 
CELTIC  SOCIETY,  collected  and  compiled  a  chronolo- 
gical account  of  about  FOUR  HUNDRED  IRISH  WRITERS, 
and  from  this  compilation  we  have  extracted  the  par- 
iculars  relating  to  the  Donegal  poets.  O'Reilly  has  done 

1  See  notice  p.  218,  Ante. 


416  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

much  to  preserve  and  index  the  Irish  poets,  more  we 
believe  than  he  has  got  credit  for.  Most  of  the  poems 
that  were  in  his  collection  are  now  preserved  in  the  library 
of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  and  are  easy  of  access  by 
reference  to  the  first  line  of  the  poem,  as  given  in  Irish. 

HUGH  ROE  O'DONNELL. 

The  poem  of  Maolmuire  Mac-an-Bhaird,  addressed  to 
Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell  during  his  captivity  in  Dublin 
Castle,1  consists  of  forty-one  quatrains,  or  one  hundred  and 
sixty-four  lines. 

We  submitted  a  copy  of  this  poem  to  Douglas  Hyde, 
LL.D.,  an  eminent  Irish  scholar,  who  kindly  examined  its 
construction,  he  says,  "it  is  written  in  Deibliidh  verse". 
Dr.  Hyde  gives  the  peculiarities  of  this  metre  to  be 
as  follows ;  "Every  quatrain  consists  of  four  lines,  each 
line  of  seven  syllables,  the  last  word  of  the  second 
and  of  the  fourth  line  of  every  quatrain  must  contain  a 
syllable  more  than  the  last  word  of  the  first  and  third 
lines.  If  the  accent  falls  on  the  seventh  syllable  in 
the  first  and  third  lines,  it  must  fall  on  the  sixth  in  the 
second  and  fourth,  if  it  fall  on  the  sixth  syllable  in  the 
first  and  third  lines  it  must  fall  on  tfee  fifth  in  the  second 
and  fourth.  Each  pair  of  lines  make  final  assonance,  i.e., 
rhyme  with  each  other.  In  addition  to  this  some  one  word 
or  more  in  the  middle  of  the  third  line  must  make  assonance 
with  some  one  word  or  more  in  the  middle  of  the  fourth, 
and  this  interlineal  assonance  is  often,  though  not  neces- 
sarily used  in  the  first  and  second  lines  also. 

»  See  p    403  ante. 


DONEGAL   POETS.  417 

In  each  line  two  words  must  begin  with  the  same  con- 
sonant or  a  vowel,  thus  forming  an  alliteration. 

Dr.  Hyde  has  rendered  into  English  several  quatrains  of 
the  poem,  some  literally,  and  a  few  marking  the  distinction 
of  the  •oeibix)  verse.  The  examples  given  will  show  that 
Irish  poetry  was  not  a  matter  of  haphazard.  Maolmuire 
begins  his  poem1  :  — 

1.  1oincui|i  ri-Atctnj\fe  A  Aot>  RUATO 

j  ti-irmcirm 
A  rhic  yoi^Toe  A  cuite 
T)eic  m 


(Literally). 

"  Bear  thy  sorrow,  Oh  !  Red  Hugh,  calm  thy  mind  under 
thy  misfortune,  have  patience,  O  son,  in  thy  ill.  Danger  is 
no  nearer  thee  on  account  of  it".  Dr.  Hyde  gives  this 
example  of  the  style  of  -oeit)it>  verse  translated  into  English. 

"Thy  Burden  Hear,  0  I  Red  Hugh 
Suffer  thy  care  and  Sorrow, 
Danger  may  be  Dear  to  thee 
But  Fail  not,  Fear  not  tiny, 

'2.  o.  Mac-  an-  Ward,  then  desires  his  chieftain  to  put  his 
trust  in  God,  "  who  alone  can  bring  him  out  of  his  bond- 
age", to  be  patient,  and  make  little  of  all  his  afflictions. 

1  Irish  MSS.  in  E.T.A.  vol.  xix.  C  «  p.  1G1.    (O'Longan's  copy),  and 
Hoilges  and  Smith's  Cat.  p.  591,  and  Book  S,  L.  ??.  K.I.A. 


418  j-jjj^    INIS-OWEN   AND  TIKCONNELL. 

4.~ 


Deic  y.A  mAoic-c]ioi'6e,  AH  rniAt)  i>uic? 
-A  j|MAn  CAorii-coige 


(Literally). 

"Freedom  comes  after  grievous  wrong,  behold  thy  self, 
and  suffer  thy  calamity;  to  be  of  faint  heart,  doth  it  become 
thee,  Oh  !  sun  of  the  gentle  house  of  Cormac." 

(Translation  in  -oeibit)  verse). 
"  After|Failure  Freedom  comes 
Suffer  thy  Sore  alarums. 
Be  Thou  a  man  mid  Troubles  Thick, 
Sun  of  the  Clan  of  Connie". 


5.  1-\ilAiri5  toeic 

50  •octntte  AH  conn 
•A  "o'Toeti  unit 
At)'  6111115  Aj 


(Literally). 

"Endure  to  be  as  thou  art,  until  returns  [recedes]  the  all 

drowning  wave. 

0  !  protection  of  the  coast  of  Erin,  a  captive  in  hard  bond- 
age". 

(Translation  in  •oeiVn-o  verse). 
"  INight  is  Near,  but  do  not  mourn 
Erin's  Whelming  Waves  return, 
Eound  that  Last  Loved  son  of  her's 
A  captive  Fast  in  Fetters". 


DONEGAL  POETS.     .  419 

6.  7.  The  poet  continues  to  console  Eed  Hugh  O'Donnell 
by  reminding  him  that  he  is  not  the  first  of  the  sons  of 
Milesius  who  was  taken  prisoner  by  the  Galls,  or  foreigners. 
The  Galls,  says  the  poet:— "Shall  be  to  the  end  of  the 
world  fighting  for  the  mastery  over  the  land  of  Inisfail  and 
fettering:  the  sons  of  Milesius". 


tllA1Tl 


VIA  poc 
oi1eAin  d 

(Literally). 

"The  Kings  of  the  Galls,  the  Gaels  of  Banba  [Erin], 
ever  yet  in  opposition  for  the  clear  plains  of  the  white  fairy 
fields  in  the  kingdom  of  the  Island  of  Erin". 

(Translation  in  •oeibi'o  verse). 
Still  opposing  Law  to  Law 
Fight  Gall  and  Gael  in  Banba, 
Where  the  white  Fields  smile,  of  Finn 
The  flowered  Isle  of  Erin. 

9,  10,  li,  12,  13.  The  poet  says  :  —  No  one  of  the  race 
of  Tirconnell  before  thee  hurled  [efficiently]  as  much  as 
one  shot  against  the  foreigners",  but  it  is  not  quite  clear 
whether  the  poet  desires  to  incite  Red  Hugh  against  the 
foreigners,  or  to  calm  his  mind,  on  the  ground  that  he  had 
given  the  English  no  occasion  to  exercise  their  greatest 
cruelty,  i.e.,  putting  him  to  death.  The  poet  continues  :  — 
"  Thou  mightest  have  gone  for  ever  beyond  the  power  of 


420  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

the  foreign  legions,  yet  thou  wentesfc  not,  the  foreigner 
ever  controlling  thee  with  barbarous  custody,  Oh  !  youth 
•with  the  head  of  curled  yellow  hair".  From  this  allusion 
it  would  appear  this  poem  was  \vritten  in  1590,  after  Red 
Hugh  had  been  brought  back  to  Dublin  Castle  by  Phelim 
O'Toole,  whose  territory  afterwards  was  given  as  a  recom- 
pense for  services  to  Lord  Powerscourt's  ancestor, 
Richard  Wmgfield,  Marshal  of  the  English  army,  who  was 
sent  by  Chichester  in  1608  to  Kilmacrenan  to  fight  and 
contend  against  Cahir  O'Doherty  and  his  followers. 

The  poet  continues  to  address  Red  Hugh,  "  that  perhaps, 
the  thing  which  a  man  considers  often  tho  greatest  evil 
that  could  befall  him,  often  turns  out  to  his  good,  and  so 
may  it  be  with  thee.  It  may  be  necessary  to  lower  thy 
high  spirits  and  great  courage  in  order  to  make  thee  a  more 
perfect  man,  and  a  greater  captain".  To  this  end  the  poet 
illustrates  his  meaning  by  examples  :  — 


14.  An  cu  n<\6  (5)  cuipceA^  &\\  eitl 
A  tine  Aot)A,  1  n-Aoif  coileni 
Cthfp<Mci|\  CATopeAiii  HA  con, 
-p  •o'n<\'bc\|\. 


[Translation  in  "oeibit>  verse.] 

"  Useless  Is  a  hound  you  see 
Unhunted  As  a  puppy, 
Full  of  flaws  he  comes  to  ao-e 

n 

~Bccaitse  too  Crammed  with  Courage". 

O 

The  poet  gives  an  example  of  the  ship  under  control  of 
the  helmsman  :  — 


DONEGAL   POETS.  421 


AJ\  yiit)  n- 
"Pei]i|voe  An  tonj  leA^At)  Ayeol, 
Sul  ceA<5A|\  yA  yonn  Ain-eot. 

(Translation  in  "oeibit)  verse). 

"  When  a  Ship  is  on  the  Sea 
Where  Warring  Winds  Sweep  Swiftly 
Trim  well  all  its'  Wide-sail  Wing 
Before  it  Fall  to  drifting". 

The  poet  gives  the  young  unbroken  steed  as  an  example  ; 

1C.  .An  C-GAC  boy  (yoy)  l3eAncAj\  -oe'n 
50  1i-eAnviiii<\t  eAygoTo 

lAn   A]\  tl  ytlj 

i  Ay  A  lnu\t)v.\|\. 


(Translation  in  "oeibix)  verse). 

So  the  Wild  and  Wilful  steed, 
It  Rages,  it  is  liabid  ; 
Bridles  Must  first  Mould  its'  will 
Breaking  it  —  Bold  but  gentle. 

ik  As  a  further  exemplification  the  poet  tells  in  verse  the 
story  of  the  son  of  the  Emperor  of  Almain  (Germany),  who 
through  haughtiness  and  high  spirits  became  intolerable, 
until  the  seers  of  the  East  and  men  of  knowledge  hit  upon 
a  plan  of  getting  him  under  their  power  and  control  for  a 
time.  They  placed  him  in  fetters,  until  his  pride  and  high 
spirits  were  broken,  so  when  his  time  came,  lie  was  pre. 
pared  to  reign  as  king  over  the  kingdom  of  his  fathers". 


422  INIS-OWEN   AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Then  the  poet  makes  a  parallel  between  the  son  of  the 
Emperor  of  Germany  and  Eed  Hugh  O'Donnell,  "  con- 
tinuing his  address  he  says,  "After  all  thy  weariness  it 
was  the  very  same  thing  through  the  will  of  Christ  who 
created  thee,  that  happened  both  to  him  and  thee".  The 
poet  impresses  on  Red  Hugh  that  it  was  "  for  thy  own 
good  and  for  their  own  good  that  the  foreigners  brought 
thy  bright  countenance  to  the  populous  ford  of  Dublin,  — 
though  there  is  a  shadow  over  everyone  on  account  of  it"- 

The  poem  ends  with  the  following  quatrain. 


A  HA  liiAjiiAi^,  niAicne  Cinnn, 
-A  UA  Seum<Mf  pot  n  *O6mnAiVl, 

An  bitom-fe  t)Af\  n  "0615  •oinn 
ctnjpe  "D'AJA  n-mrpmrh. 

(Translation.) 

"  0  Grandson  of  Magnus  of  the  children  of  Conn, 
0  Grandson  of  Seumas  of  the  seed  of  Domhnall".1 

"  This  captivity  of  thine  shall  surely  bring  to  us  a  nearer 
glory  out  of  our  sorrow".  We  here  express  to  Dr.  Hyde 
thanks  for  his  valuable  digest  of  this  interesting  Donegal 
poem. 


THE  CROSS   OF  COOLEY   (TTlA 

Near  the  site  of  the  church  of  Maghbile  (Mpville)  in 
Bredach-Glen,  known  as  the  church  of  Cooley,  there  is  a 
fine  specimen  of  an  ancient  Irish  monolithic  cross. 

1  This  refers  to  James  MacDonnell.  who  was  his  grandfather  on  the 
mother's  side. 


THE   CROSS   OF   COOLUY. 


423 


O'Donovan,  who  visited  the  place  in  1835,  says:  "I  saw  the 
old  church  of  Maghbhile,  and  could  not  but  laugh  at  the 
audacity  of  Lanigan  attempting  to  contradict  Colgan,  who 


had  often  seen  the  church.     It  is  a  very  extensive  ruin, 
and  an  antique  cross  at  the  gAte,  about  8  ft.  6  in.  high,  as 


424  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

grey  as  a  ghost,  and  as  old  as  St.  Patrick,  indicates  the 
great  age  of  the  church".1 

This  High  Cross  of  Cooley  bears  no  inscription  or  de- 
coration, but  has  four  perforations  within  its  circular  body, 
and  one  perforation  in  its  upper  limb.  The  cross  faces 
east  and  west,  it  has  a  height  of  9  ft.  3  in.  over  the  table 
slab  in  which  it  stands ;  its  width  at  the  arras  over  all  is 
31  in.,  whilst  the  circular  body  has  a  diameter  of  22  in. 
The  width  of  the  stem  is  15  in.,  and  the  arms  are  also  15  in. 
deep. 

A  foot-mark,  traditionally  ascribed  to  St.  Patrick,  is 
pointed  out  on  the  slab  in  which  the  cross  is  fixed. 

In  the  graveyard  at  Cooley,  is  a  small  rectangular  build- 
ing, covered  with  an  angular  stone  roof,  after  the  manner 
of  St.  Kevin's  "Kitchen"''  at  Glendalough.  The  building 
is  8  ft.  6  in.  by  6  ft.  6in.,  with  side  walls  2  ft.  thick,  and 
about  4  ft.  6  in.  high  over  the  present  surface.  The 
height  to  the  apex  of  the  roof  over  the  side  walls  is  about 
3  ft.  ()  in.  A  lower  aperture  15  in.  by  12  in.  is  in  the 
western  gable,  and  a  slit-opening  15  in.  by  5  in.  is  placed  in 
the  eastern  gable  at  4  ft.  from  the  ground.  It  is  known 
now  as  the  "  Skull  House".  This  may  have  been  the 
original  oratory.2 

CARROWMORE   CROSSES    (bou-COT1A1|\) 

O'Donovan,  who  visited  this  place  in  1835,  speaks  of 
"  the  beautiful  stone  crosses  on  the  site  of  the  old  church, 

1   Ordnance  Survey  Letters,  Co.  Donegal,  by  John  O'Donovan.    The 
letter  referred  to  is  dated  from  Bredach-Glen,  August  17th,  1835. 
-  Proceedings  IM.A.,  3rd  Series,  vol.  ii.,  pp.  105-0. 


CARROWMORE  CROSSES.  425 

of  which  not  even  the  graveyard  now  remains.  Oats  grow 
on  the  site  of  the  churchyard.  The  crosses  are  very  con- 
spicuous objects  from  the  road  leading  from  Bunaphobble".1 

O'Donovan  supposed  that  this  was  the  site  of  the  ori- 
ginal parish  church  of  Cooldavagh.  But  Colgan,  who 
knew  the  place  thoroughly,  calls  it  the  monastery  of  Both- 
chonais,  from  which  it  is  probable  that  the  name  applied 
to  the  Catholic  church  of  the  district,  Bocaii,  is  derived. 

The  Eev.  William  Reeves,  1853,  identified  the  site  of 
Both-chonais,  where,  in  the  townland  of  Carrowmore,  he 
says  he  found  it  "bearing  abundant  evidence  in  its  crosses 
and  other  remains  of  ancient,  though  locally  forgotten, 
importance".2 

The  foregoing  meagre  notice  is  all  that  has  hitherto 
appeared  on  the  subject.  When  in  the  locality  in  June, 
1890,  the  Author,  aided  by  the  Eev.  Philip  O'Doherty  and 
Mr.  O'Cannan,  made  an  examination  of  these  crosses,  which 
bear  every  appearance  of  being  as  early,  at  least,  as  the 
tenth  century,  and  may  have  been  erected  before  that 
period.  They  consist  of  two  high  crosses,  which  are  still 
standing.  The  first  is  at  the  western  end  of  a  plateau,  on 
which  the  outline  of  a  building  may  be  clearly  traced,  and 
where  a  portion  of  the  monastery  of  Both-chonais  evidently 
once  stood. 

This  cross,  slightly  slanting,  is  a  beautiful  stone,  stand- 
ing more  than  11  ft.  above  the  ground,  14^  in.  wide  by 
1 1  in.  thick,  and  has  been  cut  from  the  laminated  sandstone 
that  is  to  be  found  at  Glengar,  in  the  north-east  district  of 

*  O'Donovan's  Letter,  dated  Carn-Donagli,  August  19tb,  1835,  and 
Ms.  Extracts,  Parish  of  Culdaff,  R.I.A. 
2  Beeves'  Columba,  pp.  405— 40G. 

54 


426 


INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 


Inishowen.  The  arms,  which  extend  beyond  each  side  of 
the  stem  of  the  cross  4  in.  by  15  in.  deep,  are  placed  at 
about  two  feet  down  from  the  top.  This,  like  the  Cooley 
cross,  bears  no  inscription,  and  is  wholly  devoid  of  any 
ornamentation  or  tracery,  presenting  the  outline  of  a  plain 
cross,  as  it  had  been  cut  out  of  the  quarry. 

At  this  site  are  the  remains  of  other  crosses.  On  the 
stem  of  one  which  stands  3  ft.  high  by  2  ft.  broad,  are 
carved  lines  and  a  circle  meridionally  divided.  This  we 
have  shown  on  our  drawing. 


AT  t)octi-clion4if. 

[CARKOWMORE.] 


CARROWMORE  CROSSES. 


427 


Another  high  cross,  about  thirty  yards  south  of  the  for- 
mer, stands  in  the  field  adjoining.  It  is  also  rectangular 
in  form,  about  10  ft.  high,  2  ft.  5  in.  broad  at  the  ground, 
slightly  widening  to  2  ft.  8  in.  under  the  arms,  which 
measure  4  ft.  3  in.  across,  and  are  1  ft.  10  in.  deep.  The 
thickness  of  this  stone  is  now  61  in. 

On  the  head  of  the  western  face  is  sculptured  a  radiating 
glory,  with  a  spray  of  three  rays,  giving  it  the  appearance 
of  a  triangle.  These  rays  extend  to  the  centre  of  the  arms. 
This  is  the  only  appearance  of  carving  that  now  exists. 
The  eastern  face  is  plain.  In  consequence  of  its  exposure 
to  the  east,  it  has  suffered  from  the  effects  of  weathering. 


boch-clion4ij\ 

[CARROWMORE  J. 


428  INIS-^WEN  AND  TIRCONNEI.L. 

Immediately  adjoining  the  last-described  cross,  and  lying 
with  its  surface  inclined  to  the  slope  of  the  field,  is  an 
irregular-shaped  stone,  about  5  ft.  by  5  ft.,  on  which  is 
carved  a  small  cross,  17  in.  by  S£  in.,  formed  by  a  half- 
circular,  sinkage,  as  a  corresponding  circular  margin,  near 
which  is  an  elliptical  sunk  water-bowl,  used  by  the 
peasantry  who  still  frequent  the  place  in  making  the 
Uujvvp,  or  pilgrimage,  and  out  of  which  they  take  some 
portion  of  the  water  it  may  at  the  time  contain. 

The  cross  on  this  inclined  stone  is  much  like  those  des- 
cribed as  found  cut  on  the  interior  of  caves  in  Fifeshire,1 


THE  CROSS  OF  ST.  BUADON  OF  CluAltl-CAtllA  (Cloned). 

The  ruins  of  a  small  seventeenth  century  church,  about 
48  ft.  by  21  ft.,  known  as  the  Church  of  Clonca,  that  oc- 
cupies an  older  foundation,  lie  eastward  of  Both-chonais,  on 
the  road  to  Culdaff.  Outside,  west  of  the  graveyard  of 
this  church,  are  the  remains  of  a  High  Commemoration 
Cross,  equal  in  many  respects  to  some  of  the  sculptured 
crosses  described  by  the  late  Henry  O'Neill.2 

The  portion  of  the  shaft  now  erect  in  its  original  site 
measures  about  10  ft.  high  by  16  in.  by  8£  in.  It  is 
divided  into  panels,  and  carved  with  figures  representing 
Scriptural  subjects,  after  the  style  of  the  Monasterboice 
crosses.  In  the  same  field  is  what  is  stated  to  be  the 


1  Spalding  Club,  vol.  2,  pi.  xxix.    Aberdeen,  1867. 
*  The  Sculptured  Crosses  of  Ancient  Ireland.  By  Henry  O'Neill,  London , 
1857. 


THE  CROSS  OF  ST.   BUADOX  429 

remaining  portion  of  the  cross,  consisting  of  the  upper 
limb,  or  head  of  the  cross,  which  gives  a  further  height  of 
about  5  ft.  6  in.,  or  a  total  height  of  about  15  ft.  6  in.  The 
appearance  of  this  cross,  if  restored  (as  in  the  figure)  would 
resemble  in  many  respects  the  model  of  the  restored  cross 
after  Henry  O'Neill,  now  in  the  Museum,  Kildare  Street. 
The  head  of  the  cross  extends  over  the  body  by  a  projec- 
tion 20  in.  wide  by  13a  in.  high,  and  5£  in.  thick,  so  that 
the  sloping  sides,  beginning  at  16  in.  wide,  taper  at  the 
top  to  13*  in  ,  while  the  thicknesses  of  the  stem  of  8£  in. 
wide  also  diminish  at  the  top  to  5^  in.  The  top  of  the 
cross  extends  2  ft.  9  in.  from  the  centre  of  the  arms.  A 
central  small  circle,  10  in.  in  diameter,  divides  the  arms 
that  project  20  in.  on  each  side  of  the  centre,  giving  an 
extreme  width  of  40  in.  across  the  body.  The  shoulders 
of  the  cross  are  sunken  spaces,  but  not  perforated,  as  in 
most  Irish  crosses.  The  circular  rim,  or  nimbus,  is  formed 
by  intersecting  circles,  having  a  raised  boss  7i  in.  in 
diameter  in  each.  A  memorial  cross  of  this  magnificence 
is  rarely  found,  and  the  Author  regrets  that  the  time  at  his 
disposal  when  visiting  the  locality  of  the  site  would  not 
permit  of  a  more  careful  examination.1  The  Cross  of  St. 
Buadon  is  shown  on  the  next  page. 


1  See  Doherty  on  Some  Antiquities  of  Inishowen.    Proceeding/a  R  LA., 
3rd  series,  vol.  ii.,  p.  108—109. 


ST.  BUADON'S  CROSS  (CLONCA.) 


AN  ANCIENT  MONUMENTAL    GRAVESTONE.         431 


Within  the  walls  of  the  old 
church  of  Clonca,  at  the  sanc- 
tuary end,  was  discovered  by 
the  Author  in  1890  the 
tombstone  of  which,  through 
the  assistance  of  Eev.  Philip 
O'Doherty  and  Mr.  Eobert 
Moore,  the  Author  was  enabled 
to  present  to  the  Academy  the 
rubbing  then  exhibited.1 

Up  to  the  date  of  the  Author's 
visit  local  tradition  assigned 
this  slab  as  the  property  of 
some  local  family.  This  arose 
from  the  caman  that  is  sculp- 
tured thereon  being  supposed 
to  represent  the  caman  and 
nagg  by  which  it  was  stated  a 
member  of  this  family  at  Culdaff 
had  been  struck  when 
playing  an  athletic  game,  well 
known  throughout  other  parts 
of  Ireland  by  the  name  of 
"  hurley". 

The  stone  is  a  fine  specimen 
of  local  limestone,  beautifully 
carved,  with  a  divisional  cross, 


1  The  outline  here  represented  is  from  a  drawing  of  a  more  recent  rub- 
bing taken  for  the  Author  by  Messrs.  Moore  and  O'Cannan.  See  Pro* 
ceedings  R.LA.,  3rd  series,  vol.  ii.,  p.  110,  etc. 


432  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

that  commences  by  twined  serpents'  heads,  extending  so 
as  to  form  by  graceful  curves  the  terminations  of  the  head 
and  arms  of  the  cross.  The  foot  of  the  cross  ends  in 
various  floral  embellishments,  possibly  emblematic. 

On  the  right  of  the  cross  is  a  double-handed  sculptured 
sword,  full  size,  with  ornamental  pommel  and  recurved 
guard.  Alongside  the  sword  is  the  outline  of  a  caman  and 
nagg,  or  possibly  a  representation  of  the  instrument  used 
on  the  "  links"  in  the  game  of  " goal",  or  golf.  On  the 
left-hand  side  of  the  slab  is  a  carved  spray  of  flowers  ex- 
tending over  the  surface,  as  a  counterpoise  to  the  caman 
and  sword. 

The  inscription,  so  far  as  the  Author  has  been  able  to 
decipher  it  from  the  rubbing,  on  the  right,  reading  from 
the  centre  is — 

FERGUS  MAEL  ALIAN  DORISTEN, 

whilst  that  on  the  left,  reading  towards  the  centre,  appears 
to  be — 

MAGNUS  MACORRISTIN  IAPOTKISE". 

The  letters  remaining  on  the  right  arm  of  the  divisional 
cross  appear  to  be  ESPOLD,  whilst  the  letters  that  were 
formerly  on  the  left  arm,  if  any.  seem  to  have  been  worn 
off  by  age. 

The  whole  carving  is  in  a  fine  state  of  preservation, 
which  may  be  accounted  for  by  its  position  in  the  sanctuary 
of  the  church.  The  lettering  is  of  the  class  found  on  the 
sculptured  stones  on  the  east  coast  of  Scotland  and  the 
Isles. 

The  Author,  when  first  examining  the  slab,  thought] it 


AN  ANCIENT  MONUMENTAL   GRAVESTONE.          433 

might  have  been  erected  in  memory  of  King  Magnus,  slain 
in  Ireland  in  1103.  It  presents  a  favourable  opportunity 
for  the  authorities  of  the  Science  and  Art  Museum  to  have 
a  cast  taken  for  exhibition.  It  is  on  the  inlet  of  the  sea 
adjacent,  called  UjiAij-bjieige,  which  formerly  was  cele- 
brated as  a  dep6t  and  settlement  of  Danish  colonists  who 
became  Hibernicized  under  the  name  of  Maelfabhail,  now 
A  nglicized  to  M'Paul  and  M'Faal.  The  Author  is  indebted 
to  Dr.  P.  W.  Joyce  for  putting  him  on  the  way  of  reading 
this  Irish  inscription,  and  to  Dr.  George  Sigerson  for  the 
following,  sent  to  him  in  a  letter : — 

"  Dr.  Joyce  was  happy  in  deciphering  t)o  fun  in,  but  the 
rest  is  not  AVhoijA,  as  he  conjectures.  Another  inspection 
of  the  inscription  has  shown  me  the  true  reading,  which  is 
ctAg  f  A.  Hence  the  entire  inscription  runs  thus  : — 

pencils  rriAC  AtMn  'oo  run  m  ctAsh  SA, 

i.e.  FERGUS  MAC  ALIAN  MADE  THIS  STOJSE. 

"The  substitution  of  A  for  O  in  the  last  two  words  in- 
dicates that  Fergus  used  the  Scotch  Gaelic.  As  regards 
the  other  (and  chief)  inscription  I  must  entirely  differ.  It 
is,  indeed,  extremely  puzzling  as  it  is  given  with  the  words 
run  together.  But  space  them  as  follows  : 

mAgntis  TTMC  onmsuni  IA  po  uni  seo. 

"  The  last  word  but  one  is  contracted,  and  may  thus  be 
lengthened  out : — 

inarms  niAC  oiitiisan  IA  po  utiiAu  seo. 

"This,  in  English,  reads: — 

MAGNUS  MAC  ORRISTIN  OF  THE  ISLES  UNDER  THIS 
MOUND. 

55 


434  1NIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELi. 

"The  isles  indicated  are  those  of  Scotland  long  held  by 
the  Norsemen,  from  whom  the  name  ITlAjiiuf  came  among 
the  Gael.  This  stone  yields  a  double  confirmation,  sup- 
ported again  by  the  Scottish  form  of  ctA^Vi  -pA.  In  addition, 
allow  me  to  point  out  that  j:o  and  -peo  are  both  archaic 
Gaelic,  so  that  the  antiquity  of  that  exquisite  and  unique 
monument  is  placed  beyond  doubt.  Possibly  !A  may 
refer  to  lona,  as  its  name  was  so  written  of  old.  In  any 
case,  you  are  entitled  to  all  our  congratulations  for  this 
most  interesting  and  remarkable  discovery". 

THOMAS  AIISTGE    DEVYE, 

or,  as  the  name  is  written  in  the  Co.  Donegal,  Diver,  was 
born  in  Donegal  town  about  the  beginning  of  the  present 
century.  He  died  at  Greenpoint,  New  York,  about  the 
year  1889. 

Thomas  A.  Diver  would  appear,  if  we  form  our  opinion 
from  the  style  of  his  writing,  to  have  been  as  "odd"  as 
the  title  he  gave  his  book.1  His  pen  and  ink  sketch  of  an 
Irish  justice  of  the  peace,  as  represented  in  the  person  of 
the  Rev.  Joseph  Welch,  magistrate  and  rector  of  Donegal, 
is  eminently  graphic  and  racy. 

T.  A.  Diver,  declares  himself  in  his  work  to  have  been 
the  first  "Young  Irelander"  on  record,  having  become' 
dissatisfied  with  the  arbitrary  way,  which  O'Connell,  in  his 
opinion,  accounted  for  the  disbursement  of  the  Repeal- 
Kent. 

1  The  Odd  Bcok  of  the  Nineteenth  Century,  or  Chivalry  in  Modern 
Days,  New  York, 


KEV.   JAMES  PORTER.  435 


T.  A.  Diver  reprinted  Billy  Bluff  and  Squire  Firebrand, 
political  pamphlets,  written  by  Rev.  James  Porter,  Presby- 
terian Minister  of  Grey  Abbey  in  the  Co.  Down,1  who 
was  executed  opposite  his  own  Meeting-house  in  1798. 


REV.   JAMES   PORTER,   P.M. 

"Who  fears  to  speak  of  Ninety-eight  ? 

Who  blushes  at  the  name  ? 
When  cowards  mock  the  patriot's  fate, 
Who  hangs  his  head  in  shame  ?"* 

On  visiting  the  library  of  the  British  Museum  recently, 
we  discovered  there  a  pamphlet  written  by  Eev.  James 
Porter,  entitled  "  Wind  and  Weather",  being  a  sermon  on 
the  late  providential  storm  which  dispersed  the  French  Fleet 
off  Bantry  Bay,  preached  to  the  congregation  of  Gray 
Abbey,  on  Thursday  the  16th  February,  1797,  being  the 
fast  day  appointed  by  Government  for  thanksgiving".  By 
the  Rev.  James  Porter,  published  at  Belfast,  1797. 

On  the  fly-leaf  opposite  the  title-page  is  pasted  a  written 
note,  as  follows,  i.e.,  "Wind  and  Weather,  a  political  sermon 
by  the  Rev.  James  Porter,  who  was  hanged  the  following 
year  near  the  meetinghouse  where  it  was  preached". 

The  catalogue  number  in  the  British  Museum  Library 
is  4477,  cc.  55.  Belfast,  1797.  The  sermon  extends  over 
24  pages,  and  the  copy  preserved  seems  to  have  only 
reached  the  British  Museum  4th  February,  1867. 

1  See  page  176  ante. 

2  The  Memory  of  the  Dead,  by  John  Kells  Ingram,  S.F.,T.C.D. 


486  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

"Fast  Sermon.1" 

The  text  quoted  at  the  heading  to  the  sermon  is  from 
Ephesians  IL.  2. 

"  Ye  walked  according  to  the  Prince  of  the  power  of  Air  \ 

Having  made  a  copy  of  the  sermon  of  this  distinguished 
Presbyterian  Minister,  the  Author  regrets  space  cannot  be 
found  in  these  pages  for  it,  but  as  a  tribute  to  the  memory 
of  a  Donegal  man,  who  suffered  death  for  his  country,  we 
give  a  few  extracts  from  the  sermon  : 

\V.  J.  D. 

"  The  Almighty  Governor  of  the  Universe  displayeth  his 
power  and  his  providence  in  regulating  the  concerns  of  this 
lower  world  by  intermediate  agents.  Some  of  those  agents 
are  obvious — as  the  wind  is  the  cause  which  raises  the  sea 
into  waves  and  billows,  and  drives  ships  along  its  surface ; 
that  rain  is  the  cause  of  moistening  the  earth,  and  producing 
lakes  and  rivers,  and  such  like.  Others  are  not  discovered 
without  some  difficulty — as,  how  water  is  carried  up  to 
the  clouds,  and  how  the  air  is  put  in  motion,  so  as  to  pro- 
duce storms ;  and  others  are  so  involved  in  obscurity  as 
to  baffle  every  effort  of  human  genius — such  as  the  growth 
and  colour  of  vegetables,  the  operation  of  spirit  upon  body, 
the  cause  which  preserves  the  planets  in  their  orbits,  and 
many  more  ;  yet  we  are  as  certain  of  the  existence  of  these 
causes  as  we  are  of  those  whicli  are  of  the  objects  of  sense  : 
Among  these  hidden  causes  we  may  reckon  the  *  Power 
of  the  Prince  of  the  Air'  mentioned  in  my  text." 


REV.   JAMES  PORTER.  437 

"To  what  extent  the  devil  holds  dominion  over  the 
elements  of  the  world,  by  the  permission  and  appointment 
of  God,  no  man  can  pretend  to  say.  But  his  agency  seems 
indisputable,  [a  reader  of  the  pamphlet  has  underlined  these 
two  last  words]  not  only  from  the  words  of  Paul  to  the 
Ephesians  [the  same  reader  has  also  underlined  Paul  and 
has  written  the  word  fudge  under  the  name  Paul]  but  from 
other  parts  of  Scripture — Our  Saviour,  rebuking  the  wind, 
as  mentioned  by  St.  Luke,  shews  that  he  did  not  consider 
it  as  coming  immediately  from  the  hand  of  God— The 
writer  of  the  Book  of  Kings  says,  that  a  great  and  strong 
wind  rent  the  mountains  and  broke  into  pieces  the. rocks — 
but  the  Lord  was  not  in  the  wind  ;  and  after  the  wind  an 
earthquake — but  the  Lord  was  not  in  the  earthquake." 

"In  the  late  providential  storm,  which  gave 

occasion  to  our  meeting  this  day,  we  are  not  to  suppose 
his  influence  [i.e.  the  influence  of  the  Prince  of  the  Power 
of  Air,]  very  predominant,  else  we  should  not,  perhaps, 
have  such  cause  for  gratitude  and  joy.  To  those  who  are 
tenacious  of  Satan's  power,  and  solicitous  for  the  extent  of 
his  dominion,  I  am  willing  to  allow1  a  certain  degree  of 
agency  in  whatever  concerns  the  misery  of  man,  but  none 
in  whatever  promotes  his  happiness  ;  yet  those  who  think 
"  all  things  work  together  for  good,"  will  give  me  little 
thanks  for  the  concession". 

"The  instruments  which  the  Governor  of  the  World 
employs  for  chastisement  or  destruction,  are  as  various  as 
the  crimes  of  which  men  are  guilty."  ....  In  modern 
times  we  may  trace  the  same  irresistible  hand  of  Providence 

1  Pamphlet  p.  6. 


438  INIS-OWEN   AND  TIECONNELL. 

guiding,  regulating,  overthrowing,  and  raising  up  king- 
doms, states  and  empires;  changing  their  power,  their 
principles  and  maxims  of  government ;  crumbling  to  dust, 
thrones  and  sceptres  ;  breaking  asunder  the  most  formid- 
able and  deep-laid  combinations,  baffling  the  wisdom  of 
the  wise,  and  defeating  the  strength  of  the  strong ;  disper- 
sing fleets  and  armies  ;  confounding  the  councils,  checking 
the  ambition,  and  humbling  the  pride  of  man". 

"  Since  the  beginning  of  the  American  War, 

we  have  had  opportunities  of  prejudging  how  useful  those 
fast  days  are;  perhaps  their  efficasy  has  not  been  so 
extensive  as  many  of  us  could  wish — yet  that  it  has  been 
very  considerable  in  the  eyes  of  administration  is  evident 
from  the  solemn  punctuality  with  which  they  are  appointed 
on  all  great  occasions.  Common  people  cannot  see  far 
into  the  profound  wisdom  by  which  statesmen  regulate  the 
great  interest  of  religion  and  policy ;  and  should  delusion 
and  error  appear  ninety-nine  times  out  of  a  hundred,  you 
must  know  that  plain  unadulterated  understandings  is  a 
sufficient  reason,1  as  times  go,  why  you  should  not  trouble 
your  heads  about  the  business."  .  .  .  "  The  pious 
care,  however,  with  which  the  holy  dignatories  of  the 
Church  [meaning  the  establishment]  display  the  profusion 
of  their  tables,  and  the  delicacy  of  their  wines,  proves  that 
the  passtimes  of  fasting  is  not  very  strictly  enforced  upon 
themselves" 

"  The  last  storm  was  a  phenomenon  in  this  country, 
from  its  duration  and  effects  ;  from  the  force  and  steadi- 
ness with  which  the  wind  blew ;  and  from  the  vast  tract  of 

1  Pamphlet,  p.  9, 


KEV.  jAilES  PORTED  439 

our  globe  over  w.hich  it  must  have  passed.  It  bleAV  with 
undiminished  fury  for  seventy-two  hours,  without  any 
sensible  variation  from  the  S.S.E.  [strange  this  is  the 
quarter  from  which  we  are  visited  by  the  most  dangerous 
and  continuous  wind].  "  It  must  have  moved  with  a 
velocity  of  fifty  miles  an  hour,  and  it  was  not  less  than 
600  miles  in  breadth. 

The  Kev.  James  Porter  concluded  this  remarkable  ser- 
mon in  the  following  words :  "  Let  your  behaviour  be 
peaceable,  sober,  and  submissive  to  the  laws.  Cultivate 
brotherly  love  one  towards  another,  put  not  your  trust  in 
storms,  fleets  or  armies — remembering  that  the  race  is  not  to 
the  swift,  nor  the  battle  to  the  strong ;  but  put  your  trust  in 
the  Lord  your  God,  and  be  followers  of  that  which  is  good". 

In  a  recent  publication,1  its  author  gives  "A  List  of 
Ministers  of  the  Synod  of  Ulster  who  were  executed, 
banished,  imprisoned,  or  fled  the  Kingdom  for  being  con- 
cerned in  the  Rebellion  of  1798".  The  first  name  on  the 
list  is  that  of  "James  Porter,  Grey  abbey ;  executed  at  his 
own  Meeting-house  gate,  at  Greyabbey,  July  2nd,  1798.2 
The  notes  used  by  Mr.  Young,  appear  to  have  been 
originally  taken  down  from  Mr.  Andrew  Stilly,  of  Ballin- 
drait,  in  1845,  by  the  late  Rev.  Classon  Porter,  of  Larne, 
who  says  he  was  told  "  that  Mr.  Porter  (of  Greyabbey) 
was  born  at  a  place  called  Tamna  Wood,  near  Ballindrait. 
Mr.  Young  gives  in  his  brochure  an  excellent  vignette  of 
the  Rev.  James  Porter.3  [Ballindrait  is  a  village,  in  the 
parish  of  Ctu<Mn  t<\ot>'h  (Clonleigh),  Co.  Donegal; 

1  Ulster  in  '98,  by  Robert  M.  Young,  M.R.I. A.,  Belfast,  1893. 

1  Ibid,  p.  57. 

1  Ibid,  pp.  58,  59,  CO,  and  66. 


440  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

situated  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from  Lifford,  on  the 
road  to  Kaphoe,  and  Letterkenny1.  Mr.  Porter's  son,  aged 
about  12,  carried  till  the  last,  a  stand  of  colours  that  were 
riddled  with  bullets  at  the  battle  of  Ballynahinch.  This 
boy,  Alexander  J.  afterwards  became  an  American  jurist 
and  Senator,  he  was  born  in  Armagh  in  1786.]2 

SHANE  O'DOHERTY. 

Shane  Doherty,  a  poet,  called  MacAvcrgy,  TTlAc  A 
Ir^lTS6  —  Son  of  the  Sea  —  was  born  in  Malm  perhaps 
about  the  year  1700,  he  removed  to  the  parish  of  Clon- 
many,  where  he  died  about  the  year  1764. 

FRIAR  O'DOHERTT, 

a  poet,  also  of  Clonmany,  died  about  the  year  1784, 
unfortunately  this  poetry  has  never  been  collected  or 
published.  Lieutenant  William  Lancey,  E.E.,  Statistical 
Report  of  the  Parish  of  Clonmany,3  prepared  for  the  Ord- 
nance Survey,  mentions  both,  under  the  heading  of 
"  Remarkable  Events",  and  states  that  Friar  O'Doherty, 
lived  at  Carrickabraghy  Castle.  Lieutenant  Lancey,  gives 
a  sketch  of  this  ruined  fortalice,  belonging  to  the 
O'Doherty's.  It  was  from  this  castle  at  Carrickbraghy,  the 
last  chieftain  of  Inis-owen,  Cahir  O'Doherty,  previous  to  his 


Wood,  i.e.,  the  Silent  Wood,  is  the  name  of  a  small  town- 
land  lying  North  of  Ballindrait,  near  to  where  main  road  branches  off 
to  Raphoe,  at  the  school-house. 

1  For  other  reference  to  the  Kev.  James  Porter,  see  ante,  pp>  176 
and  177. 

3  MS.  Ordnance  Survey,  1834,  in  Library  B.I.  A. 


THE   BOSOM  OF  FAHAN.  441 

revolt  in  1608,  wrote  to  the  adventurer  Paulett, 
Governor  of  the  English  settlement  of  "  The  Derrie"» 
which  began  to  be  founded  by  Docwra  in  1601.  A  copy  of 
he  letter  can  be  seen  in  the  "  Calendar  of  State  Papers", 
1608-10,  edited  by  Russell  and  Prendergast.1 


XXXI. 
THE  BOSOM  OF  FAHAN. 

In  Inis-Owen,  about  eight  miles  north  from  Derry, 
"adjoining to  the  east  the  main  road,  leading  from  Derry 
to  Buncrana,  in  one  of  Ireland's  most  charming  vales"  (the 
Bosom  of  Fahan),2  there  existed  for  centuries  at  Fahan. 
Mura,  the  convent  founded  by  St.  Mura  in  the  sixth  century. 
"Pierian3  (which  literally  means  a  green  spot,  or  "  Bosom",) 
consequently  has  been  frequently  mentioned  in  Irish  History, 
associated  with  the  name  of  the  founder  of  the  monastery 
or  convent,  or  with  some  of  the  abbots  who  Avere  St.  Mura'3 
successors.  The  names  of  the  abbots  from  657,  till  the 
year  1098,  appear  recorded  with  fair  regularity  consider- 
ing that  the  convent  was  on  a  branch-arm  of  Lough 
Swilly,  and  within  easy  reach  by  sea  for  disturbance  or 
pillage.  Among  the  names  of  St.  Mura's  successors 
who  were  distinguished,  appears  the  name  of  "Poco/o  n<x 

A  Genome,  or  the  "  Canonist". 

1  p.  317.  London,  1874. 

'  The  Abbey  of  Fahan,  p.  97,  2nd  Ser.  vol.  ii,  Proceedings  E.I. A. 
Dublin,  1881. 

3  Fahan,  pronounced  Fawn. 

56 


442  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIECONNELL. 

In  a  list  of  abbots  of  Fahan-Mura,  given  by  the  late  Dr. 
Reeves,  appears  this  entry,  "  A.D.  818. — 'Fothadh  of 
Fothain  died'.  This  is  supposed  by  O'Conor,  and  with 
reason,  to  have  been  the  celebrated  Fothadh  no.  Canoine, 
or  *  the  Canonist'  of  whom  mention  is  made  by  the  Four 
Masters  at  799,  and  Annals  of  Ulster  at  803'V 

The  Four  Masters  under  the  year  799  [recte  804, 
O'Donovan' s  edition]*  says: — "The  clergy  having  com- 
plained to  the  king,  Aedh  Oirnie,  that  it  was  a  grievance 
to  them  to  go  upon  any  hosting  (or  fighting)  expedition. 
The  King,  i.e.  Aedh,  said  he  would  abide  by  the  award  of 
Fothadh  na  Canoine,  [Aot>,  no  jebA-o  An'iAit  AcbefU-o 
"pocA-6  tiA  CAtioine],  on  which  occasion  Fothadh  [of  Fahan- 
Mura]  passed  the  decision  exempting  the  clergy  of 
Ireland  for  ever  from  expeditions  and  hostings",  [i.e. 9  from 
going  in  the  retinue  of  any  king,  chief  or  governor,  in 
fighting  array,  as  had  been  frequently  the  case  previously]. 
O'Donovan  in  a  foot  note3  referring  to  Fothadh  na  Canoine, 
says:  "for  some  account  of  this  writer  see  Colgan's  Ada 
Sanctorum,  at  llth  March  [St.  Mura's  festival  is  on  the  12th 
March,  Ada  Sand.,  p.  587],  p.  581,  c.  13,  and  p.  583,  n.  13, 
where  he  translates  (i.e.,  into  Latin)  this  passage  as  follows : 

[O'Donovan  then  gives  Colgan's  Latin  rendering.—] 

"Illamautem  expeditionem,  Clerique  exemptionem  in 
Annum  799"  [recti  804]  "referunt  nostri  annales.  Ita 
tradunt  Quatuor  Magistri  ad  eundem :  Collegit  Rex  Aldus 
Ordnidhe  ingentem  exercitum,  et  suscepit  expeditionem  in 

U.J.A.  vol.  i.  p.  272. 

*  Annata  UiojliAclicA  Ci^e^tm  by  O'Donovan,  vol.  i.  p.  407,  Dublin, 
1851. 

3  Ibid  note  e.  p.  408. 


THE  BOSOM  OF  FAHAN.  443 

JLageniam ;  eamque  secundo  infra  unius  mensis  spatium 
vastavit.  Denub  collegit  alium  exercitum  ex  universal 
Hibernice,  et  populo  et  Clero,  exceptis  Lageniis  tune  tumul- 
tuantibus,  et  venit  usque  Dun-Cuair,  [now  Rathcore  in  Co 
Meath]  in  Lagenice  et  Midios  confinibus  :  venit  cum  eo  tune 
Conmachus  Patricii  Successor  (hoc  est  Archiepiscopus 
Ardmachanus)  Aquilonaris  Hibernice  Clero  comitatu&s 
Clerus  autem  iniquo  animo  ferebat  se  ad  Bellicas  expeditions 
vocari:  et  coram  Rege  tali  gravamine  conqueritur.  Rex 
promisit  se  in  hac  re  facturum  quod  Fothadius,  cognomento 
de  Canonibus  indicaret  expedire.  Fothadius  autem  tulit 
sententiam  pro  clero,  quae  cum  a  Bellicis  expeditionibus  dt 
ccetero  liberavit", 

[TRANSLATION.] 

"  But  our  Annals  make  reference  to  that  expedition,  and 
the  exemption  of  the  clergy  in  the  year  799,  or  more  cor- 
rectly, in  the  year  804.  The  Four  Masters  thus  allude  to- 
the  incident,  "  King  Aedh  collected  an  immense  army,  and 
undertook  an  expedition  into  Leinster,  and  during  the  space 
of  one  month's  time  laid  waste  to  it.  He  collected  afresh 
another  army  from  the  whole  of  Ireland,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Leinster  men,  then  in  a  state  of  revolt,  both  priests 
and  people,  and  marched  even  as  far  as  Dun-Cuair,  on  the 
borders  of  Meath  and  Leinster.  Thither,  there  came  with 
him  Conmachus,  successor  of  Patrick,  and  a  body  of  priests 
from  the  North  of  Ireland.  But  the  priests  did  not  take  it 
kindly  to  join  in  this  warlike  expedition,  and  in  the 
presence  of  the  king  bitterly  complained  of  it.  The  king 
promised  that  in  the  matter  about  to  be  done}  ho  would 


444  INIS-OWEN  AND  TTRCONNELL. 

abide  by  the  .ruling  of  Fothadh  na  Cunoine.  But  Fothadh 
gave  this  decision  as  to  the  clergy,  that  they  should  be 
free  from  military  service  for  the  time  to  come". 

This  decision  of  Fothadh  na  Canoine  is  referred  to  in 
the  preface  to  the  Feilire-Aenguis,  preserved  in  the  Leabhar 
J3reac,  fol.  32,  a  celebrated  Irish  manuscript  in  K.I. A. 
On  this  occasion  Fothadh  wrote  a  poem  by  way  of 
precept  to  the  king,  in  which  he  advises  him  to  exempt 
the  clergy  from  the  obligation  of  fighting  his  battles.  On 
this  occasion  Fothadh  wrote  a  poem  by  way  of  precept 
to  the  king  ....  There  is  a  copy  of  the  entire  poem 
in  a  vellum  manuscript  in  the  Library  of  T.C.D.,  H.  2. 18. 
It  is  also  quoted  in  the  "LeAbliAjA  5Abr)4tA  [or  Book  of  In- 
vasions] of  the  O'Clerys  p.  199.— See  Trans.  IBERNO-CEL- 
Tic  SOCIETY,  p.  lv.  55,  Dublin,  1820.]1  Of  this  poem  we 
give  O'Donovan's  translation  : — 

"  The  Church  of  the  living  God,  let  her  alone,  waste  her 

not. 

Let  her  right  be  apart,  as  best  it  ever  was. 
Every  true  monk,  who  is  of  a  pure  conscience, 
For  the  Church  to  which  it  is  due  let  him  labour  like  every 

servant. 
Every  soldier  from  that   out,  who  is  without  [religious] 

rule  or  obedience, 

Is  permitted  to  aid  the  great  Acdh,  son  of  Niall. 
This  is  the  true  rule,  neither  more  or  less  : 

The  Feilire  Aenguis,  mentioned  in  O'Donovan's  note,  is  the  Hierology 
in  Irish  verse  of  Angus  Ceile  De  who  flourished  about  the  same  time  .is 
Fothadh  na  Canoine. 


THE  BOSOM  OP  FAHAN, 


445 


Let  every  one  serve  in  his  vocation  without  murmur  or 
complaint".1 

"•dp  <xn  fiiAgAit  cepc,  yec  111  mop  ni  becc'\  [Thus, 
"the  true  rule,  neither  more  or  less"  as  awarded  by  the 
Canonist  of  Fahan-Mura,  one  thousand  years  ago,  ought 
to  be  still  in  force]  i.e. — The  king  should  not  impress  the 
clergy  to  fight,  but  all  others  were  permitted  to  aid  the 
king  !  We  give  a  view  looking  towards  the  west,  of  the 
1mf,  or  Inch,  an  island  in  Lough  Swilly,  as  it  appears  from 
St.  Mura's  Fahan,  west  of  the  arm  of  the  Swilly,  from 
1\inn-n<v-Tl4c  southwards,  to  where  it  is  now  stopped  in  its 
flow,  by  the  embankment  stretching  across  to  the  island  at 
Quigley's  Point. 


(ISLAND  OF  INCH)  FROM  ST.  MURA'S  FAHAN. 

View  looking  west. 


1  AnnaJa  Rioghacla  Eireann,  translated  by    O'Donovan,   vol.    i.    p. 
409,  Dublin,  1851. 


446  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

MAEL-MURA    OTHNA,    (MAELMURA  OF    FAHAN.) 

"Maelmura,  i.e.,  Servant  of  St.  Mura".1 
"TTl4o1niu|t&.    An   pie   foijicce  jMopeol&c, 

An  bejtlA  Scoiceg-oA,  -oecc.  A]*  £A1|\  cuccAt>  An 
p"  [Aoij-  Cpiofc,   ochc    ccet>    occmooA   A 


*'  Maelmura,  the  learned  and  truly  intelligent  poet,  the 
erudite  historian  of  the  Scotic  language  died."  This  Age 
of  Christ,  884". 

"  Maelmura,  the  kingly  poet  of  Ireland,  mortus  est,  Cod. 
Clarend.  Tom.  49". 

It  is  of  him  this  testimony  "was  given— 

"  There  trod  not  the  charming  earth,  there  never  flourished 

at  affluent  Teamhair  (Tara). 
The  great  and  fertile  Ireland  never  produced  a  man  like 

the  mild  fine  Maelmura. 
"There  sipped  not  death  without  sorrow."    There  mixed 

not  a  nobler  face  with  the  dead, 
The  habitable  earth  was  not  closed  over  a  historian  more 

illustrious."2 

"  This  author  is  sometimes  called  Maolmuire  Othna"3  [or 
the  Servant  of  Mary,  of  Fahan-Mura].  He  wrote  some 
historical  poems  that  still  survive.  One  of  these  is  quoted 
by  O'Flaherty  in  "  Ogygia  "  (part  3,  chap.  72),  and  con- 

1  Note  c.  F.M.,  by  O'Donovan,  p.  535. 

2  Four  Masters,  p.  53t-5,  rol.  i.,  Dublin,  1851. 

*  Trans.  Iber  no-  Celtic   Society,   Irish   Writers,   by  O'Reilly,   p.  lvii.> 
1620, 


MAEL-MURA  OTHNA.  447 

sists  of  two  hundred  and  forty-eight  verses,  beginning  with 
the  words  —  "  C<MIATTI  t>ur>-<yoAf  n<\  n-jAeitieV'. 

The  late  Dr.  Henthorn  Todd,  as  editor  of  the  "Irish 
version  of  the  Histcria  Britonum  of  Nennius",1  has  called 
this  poem  by  the  name  of  the  "  Duan  Eireannacl"  ,  to  dis- 
tinguish it  from  the  '*  Duun  Albannacli",  or  history  of  the 
Albanian  Scots. 

The  Duan  Eireannach  of  Moal  Mhuire,  of  Fathain,  is  a 
highly  descriptive  history,  illustrative  of  the  original  dwell- 
ings and  wanderings  of  the  Phoenecians,  told  in  a  clear  and 
graphic  style,  inquiring  :  — 

"  What  was  the  land  in  which  they  originally  lived, 
Lordly  men,  Fenians  ? 
What  brought  them,  for  want  of  land, 
To  the  settin    of  the  sun  ?  " 


"The  teAt)A|A  5A^A^A  (or  "Book  of  Invasions")  of  the 
O'Clerys,"  records  his  death  —  "  Maelmura,  a  learned,  truly 
intelligent  poet,  an  historian  skilled  in  the  Scotic  language, 
died  in  the  8th  year  of  the  reign  of  Flann  Sionna  A.D. 
SS4".  A  poem  in  praise  of  Maelmura  is  referred  to  by 
Dr.  Todd  in  his  notes  to  the  *Ou<Mi  Ci^eAnnAcli.3 

This  poem  contains  three  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
verse  lines.4 

1  I.A.S.,  pp.  220,  etcetera,  Dublin,  IS  IS. 

"  The  original,  in  the  handwriting  of  the  O'Clerys,  is  preserved  in  the 
t,e&t>.Af\  S^bAlA  (Book  of  Invasions^),  in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy,  p,  207. 

3  Hist  Brit.  ofNenniut,  I,  A.  S.  p.  222. 

*  Dr.  Todd  gives  an  English  translation  of  this  magnificent  poem  of 
Mael-Mura's  of  Fahan,  enriched  with  rnany  notes  of  great  topographical 
and  historical  value  to  the  student  of  Irish  history  and  topography. 


448  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

'OuAti 
1TlAetir)tif\A  OCIIA  .cc. 

"  CAIIAITI  bunAX)Af  tiA  n- 
5A1|A  cloc  ti-j'Le'oen'o 


'Oocum  n-epen-o". 

Maolmura  of  Othain  cecinit. 

"  Let  us  sing  the  origin  of  the  Gaedhel, 

Of  high  renown  in  stiff  battles, 
Whence  did  the  mighty  stream  of  ocean 
Waft  them  to  Eri? 

[Maelmura  asks]  —  "  Why  was  Fene  said  to  be 

A  name  for  them  ? 
And  Gaedhil  —  which  is  the  better  ? 
Whence  was  it  derived". 

1  "  Duan  Eireannach"  —  [The  editor  and  translator  of  the  Poem,  the 
late  James  Henthorn  Todd,  D.D.,  M.R.I.A.F.T.C.D.")  in  a  note  says  : 
"Although  quoted  by  o'Flaherty  (Ogt/gia,  iii.  c.  72)  and  by  Keating 
[Hist.  Ireland,  by  Jeoffry  Keating,  D.D.,  2'janslation  by  Dermod 
O'Connor,  Antiquary  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland,  p.  60,  London,  1723. 
W.J.D.]  this  ancient  poem  lias  never  been  published,  and  may  be  said  to 
be  unknown  to  any  historian.  It  is  here  {printed  from  a  very  good  copy 
in  the  Book  of  Leinster,  in  the  library  of  [Trinity  College,  Dublin],  (H. 
2.  18.)  compared  with  two  other  copies,  one  in  the  fragment  of  the  Book 
ofLecan,  which  remains  in  the  same  Library  (H.  2.  18),  and  the  other  in 
a  paper  manuscript  in  the  handwriting  of  CA'o'hg  O'Neachtan  |  Teague 
O'Naughton]  also  in  the  Library  of  T.C.D.  (H.  1.  15.  p,  27),  which  seem 
to  have  been  copied  from  the  Book  of  Leinster.''  O'Reilly's  copy,  now 
in  the  Library  of  the  Royal  Irish  Academy,  made  by  himself,  would 
appear  to  have  been  made  from  the  copy  II.  1.  15,  according  to  Dr. 
Todd.) 


BELIGKMUBA.  449 

The  poet  traces  the  descent  of  the  Gaedhel  to  the  time 
when 

"  A  great  school  was  founded  by  Fenius  to  instruct 

In  all  knowledge, 

A  man  deeply  learned,  who  excelled 
In  every  language". 

[The  topographical  notes  appended  to  this  poem  by  the 
translator,  are  valuable,  and  bear  internal  evidence  of 
having  been  submitted  to  Dr.  O'Donovan's  supervision, 
and  no  doubt  Dr.  Todd  obtained  his  assistance  in  their 
compilation.] 


The  zincograph  on  the  next  page  is  produced  from  a  draw- 
ing by  the  Author,  of  an  elegant  Greek  Cross,  which  is  built 
into  the  boundary  wall  of  the  Ancient  tlebglTluftA  of  Fahan,1 
adjoining  the  small  iron  wicket  gate,  that  gives  a  passage 
from  the  public  road  towards  the  "  Ivy  clad  ruins",  of  a  six- 
teenth century  church,  now  occupying  the  site  of  where 
once  stood  the  ancient  Convent  of  which  St.  Mura  was  the 
founder.  Another  curious  stone,  also  built  into  the  boundary 
wall  on  the  north  side  of  the  wicket,  "  in  its  centre  is  a 
circular  hole  about  the  size  of  a  closed  hand.  Many  con- 
jectures have  been  hazarded  in  the  locality,  as  to  what  were 
the  former  use  and  purpose  of  this  stone.  Many  of  the 
peasantry  believed  that  it  had  been  placed  outside  the  Abbey 
as  a  stoup  for  holy  water".2  That  was  the  general  belief 
of  many  people  oflnis-Owen,  as  they  passed  to  and  fro,  on 

1  "  Inis-Owenand  Tirconnett,  p.  40  (1st.  Series,  Dublin,  1891). 

2  The  Abbey  of  Fahan^.  16,  by  W.  J.  D.,  Dublin,  1881. 

57 


450 


INIS-OWEN  AND  TIECONNELL. 


GREEK    CROSS. 

their  way  to  the  fairs  and  markets  of  Deny.  Among  the 
grown  up  boys  of  the  district  when  the  Author  was  a  youth 
of  twelve,  it  was  a  favourite  amusement,  during  the  long 
fine  summer  evenings,  to  walk  blindfolded  from  across  the 
road  with  the  right  hand  closed  and  arm  extended,  so  as  to 
ascertain  who  among  the  group  could  best  recollect  in  their 
mind  the  exact  position  of  the  circular  hole,  by  placing 
the  closed  hand  within  the  circumference  of  the  hole. 


KELIG-MUEA.  451 

O'Donovan  writing  from  t)unqAAnA5li,  26th  August,  1835, 
referring  to  Fahan-Mura,  says—  "  I  could  see  nothing  in 
the  church  yard  that  belonged  to  the  time  of  Mura  but  two 
old  stones,  exhibiting  rude  ornaments  and  representations 
of  the  Crucifixion".1  The  late  Dr.  Reeves,  in  an  article 
of  much  merit  following  O'Donovan,  says — "  Outside  the 
gate  to  the  left  is  built  into  the  wall  a  curious  stone  with  a 
bore  through  it,  and  on  the  right  a  stone  having  on  it  a 
very  chaste  Greek  cross,  both  evidently  from  the  church 
yard".2 

The  next  zincograph  is  deserving  of  notice,  as  it  is  pro- 
duced from  a  drawing  made  for  the  Author  about  the  year 
1879,  by  the  late  Henry  O'Neill,  author  of  Fine  Arts  and 
Ancient  Civilization  of  Ireland.  The  drawing  is  a  restor- 
ation and  development  of  the  ornament  on  the  boss  of  the 
Bachul-Mura,  now  in  the  Royal  Irish  Academy's  collection, 
and  as  a  record  of  early  Irish  Art  Work,  it  has  a  value 
beyond  any  description  capable  of  being  given  to  it  by  the 
Author.3 


1  O'Donovan's  Ordinance  Survey  MSS.  Letters,  in  Library  R.  I.  A. 

-  See  p.  273  Ulster  Journal  of  Archeology,  vol.  1,  Belfast,  1853. 

*  See  p.  402,  ante. 


452 


INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 


COLGAN  TO  MANERO.  453 

COLGAN'S  DECLINING  YEARS. 

Before  closing  our  references  to  Donegal  writers,  we 
give  here  a  copy  of  Fr.  John  Colgan's  letter  in  Latin  to 
Manero,  with  an  original  translation,  also  a  few  additional 
particulars  about  Colgan's  very  rare  work,  the  Tractatus 
de  Vita  Joannes  Scoti,  etc. 

LETTER  OF  FR.  JOHN  COLGAN  TO   COMMISSARY- 
GENERAL  MANERO,  1652.1 

"Reverendissime  in  Christo  Pater, — Si  ineam  extremam, 
et  multorum  confratrum  imnainentam  necessitatem  Rev- 
erendissimae  vestrae  Paternitati  spe  levaminis  breviter 
exponam,  confido  in  Domino  vestram  Paternara  Clemen- 
tiam  a  qua  sola  sub  Deo  expecto  remedia  non  nisi  equo 
animo  perlaturam.  In  primis  igitur  humiliter  expono  me 
ab  aliquot  jam  mensibus  succumbere  multis  corporalibus 
infirmitatibus,  quae  et  in  dies  augentur,  ut  ad  munus 
regendi  tria  cismarina  vestrae  provinciae  Hiberniae  Col- 
legia, scilicet  Lovaniense,  Pragense  et  Vielunense  (quorum 
regendorum  curam  in  praeterito  Junio,  Reverendissima 
vestra  paternitas  mihi  commisit)  me  amplius  non  esse 
idoneum  vel  habilem  ac  proinde  munus  illud  esse  in 
alicujus  alterius  persona?  ad  id  idoneae  humeros  trans- 
ferendum.  Ego  enim  antea  propter  senectutem  et  continues 

1  The  original  letter  is  at  present  in  the  Archives  of  this  Franciscan 
Convent,  Dublin,  having  been  brought  there  with  other  valuable  MSS. 
from  tho  Franciscan  Convent  of  St.  Isidore  in  Rome,  in  the  year  1872. 
Gilbert's  referehce  to  this  letter,  and  the  Loxivain  MSS.  appears  in  an 
appendix  to  the  Fourth  Report  of  Royal  Commission  on  Historical  Manu- 
scripts, Part  1,  p.  600,  London,  1874.  Mr.  Gilbert  also  gives  a  copy  of 
this  Latin  letter^at  p.  604  of  same  appendix  to  Fourth  Report  Hist. 
MSS.  Commission. 


454  INI3-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

studiorum  labores,  viribus  plurimum  destitutus  ;  ab  aliquot 
jam  septimanisita  laboro  debilitate  stomachi,  obstructionibus 
ventris,  difficultate  incessus,  tantisque  capitis  doloribus,  ut 
integras  noctes  ducam  insomnes,  ut  nee  per  gradus  con- 
uentus  seu  collegii  descendere  vel  ascendere  absque 
adminiculo,  nee  ipsum  divinum  officium  sine  socio  per 
solvere  valeam,  nee  amplius  medicorum  judicio,  vel  iter 
aliquod  notabile  videor  posse  attentare,  nee  studiis  vc 
aliis  curis  attendere.  In  his  igitur  angustiis  positus,  recurro 
ad  Paternam  vestram  Clementiam,  quam  humiliter  rogo,  ut 
munus  illud,  mihi  hactenus  injunctum,  et  quo  debite  fungi 
amplius  non  valeo,  dignetur  in  aliquam  aliam  personam 
nostrae  Provinciae  mature  transferre,  ne  alias  praedieta 
Collegia  (quae  sola  hodie  afflictissima  nostra  Provincia 
reliquis  omnibus  conventibus  privata,  possidet)  damna 
aliqua  irrecuperabilia  patiantur.  Quod  si  Eeverendissima 
vestra  Paternitas  fecerit,  ut  sic  facturam  in  Domino  confido, 
duplicem  alleviabit  necessitatem,  unam  meam,  qui  allegatis 
nfirmitatibusita  opprimor,  ut  vel  injunctum,  vel  aliud  munus 
amplius  obire  non  valeam  ;  alteram  collegiorum,  quae  nunc 
quotidianos  occursus  fratrum  undique  tam  ex  Provincia 
ipsa  propria,  quam  ex  aliis  Ordinis  Provinciis  confluentium, 
vel  maxime  indiget  assistentia  et  praesentia  alicujus  P. 
Commissarii  robusti  et  discreti,  qui  tot  onera  supportare 
valeat.  Et  ne  forte  Reverendissima  vestra  Paternitas 
haereat  diu  in  delectu  personae  substitucndse,  placuit 
significare,  quod  ipse  existimem  aliquam  extribus  nostrse 
Provinciee  Patribus,  qui  in  hisce  Cismarinis  partibus  agunti 
esse  caeteris  ad  illud  munus  obeundum  habiliorem.  Primus 
est  K.  P.  F.  Joannes  Poncius,  S.  T.  L.  Jubilatus  qui  in 
magno  Conventu  Parisiensi,^  propter  quajdam  sua  opera 


COLGAN  TO  MANEEO.  455 

typis  mandanda  commoratur.  Secundus  V.  A .  P.  Fr.  Paulus 
Kino-,  S.  T.  Lector  St.  Isodori,  in  Urbe  Guardianus.  Tertius 

CV 

V.  A.  P.  Fr.  Antonius  Dalaghan,  olim  Provincias  nostrae 
Gustos,  et  saepius  Guardianus,  qui  in  novissimo  capitulo 
generali  persona  Provincialis  Hibernioe  representavit,  et  ad- 
hucin  hisce  partibus  degit  sine  alia  occupatione ;  cum  et 
oinnis  illi  lit  et  aliis  nostris  religiosis  praecludatur  copia  et 
acultas  redeundi  in  Provinciam.  Si  vero  duo  prioret 
videantur  forte  excusati  ratione  operum  quce  prae  manibus 
habent,  nihil  video  quo  minus  tertius  et  postremus  ille 
Pater  videatur  ad  illud  munus  assumendus. 

Quisquis  autem  substituetur  opus  illi  erit  pro  praesent 
temporc,  quo  maxima  pars  religiosorum  nostrorum  cogitur 
ad  salvandam  vitam  ex  Hibernia  (quas  jam  tota  pfaeter 
imicam  civitatem,  per  hereticos  expugnata  et  subacta  est) 
in  alias  Ordinis  Provincias  migrare,  habere  facultatam 
Reverendissima  vestra  Paternitate  concessam  dandi  singulii 
Patribus  et  FratribuS  obedientiales  ad  alias  Provincias 
Ordinis  cum  in  tribus  praedictis  pauperculis  collegiis  ali 
vel  sustentari  non  possint ;  et  insuper  opus  erit,  ut  Reverend- 
issima vestra  Paternitas  concedat  licentiam  Patribus  et 
Fratribus  sic  mittendis  se  in  eisdem  Provinciis  incorporandi. 
Nam  plures  Provinciaj  recusant  iiostros  fratres  admittere 
nisi  velnit  incorporari.  Haec,  ad  quorum  oportuna  remedia 
anhelat,  et  quas  humiliter  postulat,  significat 

Reverendissima2  Paternitatis  VestrDa 
Filius  humillimus 

Fu.  JOANNES  COLGANUS. 

Lovanii  ex  nostro 

Collegio  S.  Antonii  a  Padua, 
23  Feb  ,  1652". 


456  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

[A  TRANSLATION.] 

MOST  REVEREND  FATHER  IN  CHRIST, 

If  I  briefly  place  before  your  Most  Reverend  Paternity, 
in  the  hope  of  alleviation,  my  extreme  necessity  and  the 
imminent  need  of  many  brethren,  I  trust  in  the  Lord  that 
your  Paternal  Clemency,  from  which  alone  under  God,  I 
expect  relief,  will  listen  to  me  with  equanimity.  There- 
fore, in  the  first  place,  I  humbly  put  before  you,  that  now 
for  some  months  past  I  have  been  weighed  down  by  many 
bodily  infirmities,  which  daily  increase,  through  attending 
to  the  duties  over  which  I  am  now  presiding  in  the  three 
Continental  Colleges  of  your  Irish  Province,  viz — Louvain, 
Prague,  and  Vilna(the  care  of  which  you,  most  Rev.  Father, 
entrusted  to  me  in  June  last,)  since  I  am  no  longer  fit  or 
suitable  for  the  task,  and  therefore  I  ask  that  the  office  be 
placed  upon  the  shoulders  of  some  person  more  fitted  for 
the  duty.  Because  I  am  greatly  bereft  of  much  strength, 
through  advancing  years  and  incessant  study.  For  weeks 
I  have  suffered  from  a  debilitated  stomach,  an  enfeebled 
digestion,  difficulty  of  walking,  and  such  severe  headaches, 
that  I  pass  whole  nights  without  sleep ;  I  am  unable  to 
ascend  or  descend  the  stairs  of  the  college  without  support. 
I  am  unable  to  perform  without  a  companion  the  divine  office 
itself;  nor  am  I  any  longer  able  in  the  opinion  of  doctors 
to  take  any  journey  of  consequence,  or  to  attend  to  my 
usual  studies  or  other  duties.  Placed  thus  in  such  straits, 
I  have  recourse  to  your  Fatherly  Clemency,  which  in  all 
humility  I  crave,  and  request  that  the  duties  which  up  to 
this  have  been  borne  by  me,  and  which  I  am  no  longer  able 
to  discharge,  may  be  speedily  transferred  to  some  other 


COLGAN  TO  MANERO.  457 

person  of  our  Province;  lest  otherwise  these  colleges 
(which  alone  to-day  survive  of  all  the  other  Convents  of 
our  most  afflicted  province)  may  suffer  some  irreparable 
damage. 

But  if  your  most  Rev.  Fatherly  care  would  do  this,  as  I 
trust  in  the  Lord  you  may,  it  will  alleviate  me  in  a  two- 
fold necessity,  one  personal — as  oppressed  with  the  burden 
of  my  infirmities  I  am  no  longer  able  to  make  progress  with 
any  work  whether  official  or  otherwise — the  other— that  of 
the  Colleges  which  are  now  a  daily  concourse  of  our 
brethren,  from  our  own  province  itself,  as  well  as.  the  other 
Provinces  of  the  Order  :  So  that  the  assistance  and  pre- 
sence of  some  robust  and  discreet  Father  Commissioner, 
who  could  bear  such  labours  would  be  greatly  needed. 

And  lest  your  Most  Eeverend  and  Fatherly  care,  might 
remain  for  any  length  of  time  in  selecting  a  suitable  person 
with  satisfaction,  I  think  that  some  of  the  extern  Fathers 
of  our  Province  who  at  present  dwell  in  this  part  of  the 
Continent,  are  better  suited  to  undertake  the  duty  than 
others.  I  place  first  in  order  R.  P.  Father  John  Poncius, 
S.  T.  Jubilatus,  who  is  sojourning  in  the  great  Parisian 
Convent,  whilst  preparing  his  works  for  the  press.  The 
second,  Father  V.  A.  P.  Paulis  King,  S.T.L.,  Rector  and 
Guardian  in  the  City  (of  Rome)  of  St.  Isidore.  The  Third, 
V.  A.  P.  Father  Anthony  Delaghan,  formerly  the  keeper  of 
our  Province,  more  recently  Guardian,  who  in  the  last  general 
convocation  represented  in  his  person  the  Irish  Province, 
and  up  to  the  present  has  lived  in  these  parts  without  any 
other  occupation,  since  together  with  all  our  religious,  he 
is  debarred  of  means  and  power  to  return  to  their  Province. 
If  indeed  the  two-first  seem  perchance  to  be  excused  on 

58 


458  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

account  of  the  works  they  have  in  hands,  I  see  no  reason 
why  the  duties  might  not  be  entrusted  to  the  third  and 
last  named  Father. 

Whosoever  may  be  substituted,  it  will  be  needful  for 
him  at  the  present  time,  when  most  of  our  religious  are 
forced  to  flee  for  life  from  Ireland1  (which  is  entirely  con- 
quered and  subjected  by  heretics,  excepting  one  city)  to 
other  provinces  of  the  Order,  that  he  should  be  granted 
faculties  from  your  Most  Keverend  Paternity  of  assigning 
every  father  and  brother  to  the  other  obedient  Provinces 
of  the  Order,  as  they  cannot  be  nourished  or  maintained 
in  the  three  aforesaid  poor  little  colleges ;  it  will  be  a 
further  necessity  that  in  your  parental  care  you  grant 
license  to  the  fathers  and  brothers  thus  sent  of  permission 
to  incorporate  themselves  throughout  the  same  Provinces, 
and  unto  the  other  Provinces  of  the  Order ;  for  many 
provinces  refuse  to  admit  our  brethren  unless  they  are 
willing  to  be  incorporated. 

These  things,  for  which  an  opportune  remedy  is  urgently 
required,  and  which  are  humbly  set  forth,  are  notified  to 
your  most  Reverend  Paternity, 

by  your  most  humble  son, 
Brother  JOHN  COLGAN. 

Louvain,  from  our  College  of  S.  Anthony  of  Padua, 
23rd  February,  1652.  . 

Three  years   after  writing  the    above  letter,    Colgan 

1  Colgan's  daily  observation  of  students  and  friars,  fleeing  from 
Ireland,  to  escape  the  cruel  persecutions  of  the  Commonwealth,  were 
evidently  here  before  his  mind. 


COLGAN'S  Tractatus,  de  Vita.  459 

published  his  treatise  on  Duns  Scotus,  with  this  title  :~ 
"  Tractatus  de  Joannis  Scoti,  doctoris  subtilis  theologorum- 
que  principis,  Vit£,  Patria",  Elogiis,  encomiasticis,  scriptio, 
Doctrina  nullo  unquam  erroris  nacvo  maculata,  virtutibus 
incommuni  et  particular!,  utpote  timore  Dei  in  eo,  profunda 
humiliate,  singular!  obedientia.  Evangelic^  paupertate, 
Charitate  erga  Deum  et  proximum,  singulari  devotione 
erga  Deiparem,  extaticis  raptibus,  caelestibus  apparitionibus, 
pluribus  sanctimonies  ejus  Argumentis,  et  Authoribus  qui 
proinde  cum  inter  Divos  connumerant,  etc.,  Authore  R.P.F. 
Joanne  Colgano  sacras  theologise  Lectore  Jubilatio,  Ordinis 
FratrumMinorum  Hibernorum,  Strict.  Observ.,  in  Conventu 
S.  Antonii  a  Padua,  Lovanii.  Antuerpise,  typis  Joan 
Marcelli  Pariis,  in  paltea  vulgo  Cammestraet  dicta,  sub 
nigro  Cane.  Cum  gratia  et  privilegio". 

This  treatise  was  dedicated  by  Colgan  to  Colonel  Philip 
O'Reilly,  a  relative  to  the  then  Primate  of  Armagh,  Arch- 
bishop O'Reilly. 

Colonel  O'Reilly  was  one  of  the  Brigade  Commanders 
in  the  wars  of  the  Irish  Confederation,  his  men  being 
chiefly  recruited  from  among  his  own  connexions,  the 
O'Reillys  of  Brefney,  for  which  he  was  attainted  by  the 
English  Commonwealth.  He  afterwards  in  common  with 
many  of  his  countrymen  entered  the  Spanish  service  in  the 
Netherlands.1 

Colgan  gracefully  acknowledges  his  indebtedness  to  the 
Archbishop  of  Armagh ;  to  whom  he  was  chiefly  indebted 
for  being  able  to  publish  his  "  Triadis  Thaumaturgae" ,  he 
says,  the  Archbishop  forwarded  to  him  many  rare  books 

1  p.  600,  App.  4th  Report  Hist.  MSS.  Commission,  London,  1874. 


460  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

and  valuable  records,  without  which  his  work  could  not 
have  been  completed. 

Colgan's  dedication  to  Colonel  Philip  O'Reilly  is  as 
follows1 : — 

"  Nobilissimo  atque  illustrissimo  domino  domino  Philip, 
Regallio,Orientalis  Breffiniae  dynastae  et  subrege  Catholico 
rnilitum  tribuno,  etc. 

"  Non  excidit  memoriae  meae,  illme  heros,  me  primum 
tomum,  quern  degestis  sanctorum  nostrae  sacrae  insulae 
Hiberniae  in  lucem  edidi,  consecrasse  nomini  vestri  cognati 
Rmi  et  Illmi  Domini  Hugonis  Regallii,  cleri  Hibernici 
premicerii,  totius  quippe  Hiberniae  primatis,  et  invictissi- 
mae  columnae  belli  sacri,  prondei  Catholicae  et  Patriae 
defensione,  nuper  suscepti.  Id  namque  plures  exigebant 
praerogativae,  Opus  enim  Sacrum,  quod  primum  de  sacris 
sanctorum  Insulae  sideribus  in  publicam  prodibat  lucem 
jure  merito  sub  ejus  prodire  patrocinio  postulabat,  qui  in 
sacrato  Antistitum  patriae  suae  Senatu  et  primus  erat,  et 
Primas.  Familia  etiam  vestra  inclyta,  inter  prae  cipuas 
patriae  familias  quoad  antiquam  nobilitatem  potentiam  pro- 
cerumque  ex  ea,  pullulantium,  velut  ex  abore  venustissimti 
foecundorum  ramorum,  multitudinam ;  debuit  aequitatis 
merito  inter  primas  sui  regna  familias  memorari.  Patronus 
etiam  erga  institutum  Franciscanum  devotissimus  et  nulls 
aut  afFectu,  aut  effectu  secundus  (qualis  fuit  praedictus 
ill™6  primas),  non  debuit  ab  ullo  Franciscano  suae  patriae 
nisi  beneficiis  ingrato,  in  ordine  ad  recognoscenda  beneficia 
eique  debitam  clientclam  agnoscendam,  ulli  alteri  ex  eodem 

'  Copy  of  dedication  to  Philip  O'Reilly,  is  given  by  J.  F.  Gilbert, 
F.S.A.,  at  p.  600,  appendix,  Fourth  Roport  Royal  Commission  Nat. 
MSS.,  London,  1874. 


COLGAN'S  Tractatus  de  Vita.  461 

regno   postponi.      Haec  me  excitarunt   ad   dedicandum 
primum  nostri    operis    volumen    illmo    domino     primati 
devotissimo  cognato  vestro.     Sed  cum  expluribus   diver- 
sorum   procerum  testimoniis,   et   communi  totius   populi 
attestatione  intellexerim,    quomodo  illma  dominatio  vestra 
inata  fuerit,  nisi  et  in  quibusdam  superarit  cognatum  suum 
illmum  dominum  primatem  in  aiFectu  erga  no s tram  institution 
in      defensione      patrice      contra     juratos       ejus     hostes 
potissimum  vcro  in  propugnatione  Catholicae  fidei  contra 
haereticos  infensissimos  ejus  adversaries  (contra  quos  invict- 
issimo  anamo  multos  per  annos  jam  inconcusse  stetit,  sagpius 
strenue  dimicavit,  caputque  proprium  frequenter  extremis 
vitas   perculis  exposuit,  ac  demum  amplissimum  hsereticis 
patrimonium  in  prrcdam  relinquere  malens  ;  quam  extremum 
et  fatale  fidei,  patriseque  excidium  atque  exitium   propriis 
intueri  oculio,  voluntarium,  sed  et  honorificum,  prceelegit, 
praetulitque   exilium) ;  exiguum  meae  client elae    officium 
existimavi,   ornnia   ea   quae   de  vestro   cognato   et  familia 
illma  jam  dixi,  nisi  his  superadderem  nonnulla  alia  quae  tot 
vestra   propria    beneficia    postularent    a    devoto  cliente. 
tamquam  tot  beneficiorum  memore,  licet  impotente  debitas 
rependere    actiones    gratiarum,     Verum     cum    jam    eo 
devenerint  luctuosissimac  res  patriae,  ut  integrum  volumen ; 
illmac  dominationi  vestrae  (ut  alias  optarem)   dedicate  non 
valeam  hie    exhibio    et    afFectus,    ct    debitae    obsequium 
clientelac,  licet  mole  operis   exiguum,  pondere   tamen  rei 
praetiosae,    quern    continet,    hand    mediocere,     Illud   est 
tractatus,    quern    concepi,     de    nostris     Doctoris    subtilis 
Joannis  Scoti  patria,  quam  probo  esse  vcterem  et  majorem 
Scotiam,  sen  ut  passim  mine  vocatur,   Hiberniam,  Sanc- 
torum Insulam  a  pricis  scriptoribus  vocatam)  ;  de  ejusdem 


462  JNIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

doctoris  rara  et  sublimi  doctrina,  quam  nullas  unquam 
erroris  naevus  maculavit,  de  ejusdem  raris  virtutibus  vitae 
fianctimonia,  et  nonnullis  miraculis,  vitae  puritatem, 
doctrinaeque  veritatem  comprobantibus  hanc  tesserulam 
debit!  obsequii  eo  gratiorem  illmm*  dominationi  vestrae 
fore  arbitror,  quod  agat  de  doctore  concive  vestro,  in 
cujus  tanquam  antesignani,  doctrinam  sequendam  uni versus 
ordo  seraphicus  (erga  quern  illm11  vestra  dominantio  unice 
afficitur),  jamdudum  conjuraverit,  quod  partriae  vestrae 
adscribat  illud  orbis  solare  sidus,  de  cujus  cunis  sibi 
adscribendis  tria  acriter  concertant  regna,  theologorumque 
principem  antiqui  et  modern!  appellant  scriptores. 

Jllmae  Dominat.  vestrae  humilis  cliens  et  fidelis  servusi 
F.  JOANNES  COLGANUS". 

COLGAN'S  Tractatus  de  Vita  Joannis  Scoti  :l  is  a  "work 
of  great  rarity  now"— to  quote  late  Dr.  Keeves, s  therefore 
any  extracts  here  submitted  shall  at  least  have  the  merit 
of  being  new  to  some  of  our  readers. 

The  initial  letter  N  of  Non  ezcidit,  with  which  Colgan 
commences,  contains  within  its  outlines  a  representation 
of  the  Crucifixion,  having  figures  indicating  the  presence 
of  the  B.  V.  M.  and  St.  John  on  the  right,  and  St.  Joseph 
on  the  left.  On  the  first  page  following  the  dedication 
appears  in  24  lines,  beginning : — 

Subtili  calamo  toto,  celeberrimus  orbe. 
Quern  Petri  Sedes  Roma  favore  legit, 

1  Antwerp  ;  1655.     See  p.  104,  ante. 

2  U.  J.  Archaeology,  vol.  1,  p  301, 


COLGAN'S  Tractatus,  de  Vila.  463 

Unde  Peregrinum  centenis  Doctor  ab  annis 

Ignoto  patriae  nomine  Scotus  agit? 
Urbes  de  patri£  Celebris  luctantur  Homeri, 

Et  suspensu  tamen  lis  sine  sine  manet,  etc.,  etc. 

These  lines  bear  underneath  the  name  of  Nicolanus 
Aylmerus  Sacerdos  Hibernus  et  Protonotorius  apostolicus  i1 

On  the  page  following,  the  signature  appended  is  that 
of  a  Tirconnellian,  Fr.  Daniel  O'Clery,  Ordinis  Minorum 
Strictoris  Observantiae,  S.T.L.  The  name  being  preceded 
by  about  thirty  lines,  commencing  :• — 

Pictos  e  veris  homines  effingere  pictor 
Assolet,  inuersa"  pingitur  arte  Scotus. 

Scotum  de  Picto  Verum  Colganus  Hiberni 
Format,  detecto  nominus  arte  dolo, 
Patria  jam  prodit:  Scotus  Hibernus  est,  etc. 

The  remaining  lines  may  be/very  inadequately  described 
as  how  the  discreet  Colgan  gave  the'palm  to  Scotus,  who 
must  have  received  special  light  from  God  enabling  him  to 
achieve  the  triumphant  victory,  of  having  defended  the 
doctrine  of  the  Immaculate  Conception.  Therefore  Colgan 
one  of  the  celebrated  men  of  the  world,  desires  through  this 
work,  the  Tractatus,  to  render  to  Scotus  a  meed  of  praise". 

The  Approbatio  Tlieologorum,  is  dated  from  the  College 
of  S.  Anthony  of  Padua  Louvain,  5th  October,  1655, 
and  signed  by  Fr.  Bernardus  Fallonus,  S.T.L.,  Fr.  Thomas 

This  is  the  (Father  Aylmer)  mentioned  at  p.  97,  ante. 


464  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Sirinus,  S.T.L.,  Fr.  Antonius  Conmaeus,  S.T.L.,  and  Fr. 
Fr.  Zyphirinus  a  Irsemau,  S.T.L. 

4t  Epitaphium.  F.  Dermicii  Scoti  Hiberni  in  obitu  Beati 
Patris  Joannis  Scoti  consanguine!  sui  jam  mortui,  ubi  eum 
hoc  modo  loquentem,  introducit :' 

Me  tenet  urbs  Dunum,  tenet  hanc  Ultonia  felix. 

Fructifero  tellus  nobilitata  solo, 
Clarus  erat  genitor,  genitrix  patricia,  utrique. 

Venit  ab  antiqua    nobilitate  genus, 
Seraphicique  Patris  tenerum  susceperat  Ordo : 

Perfectae    exemplum  religionis  eram, 
Secreta  Altisoni  penetravi  arcana  Tonantis : 

Tanta  erat  ingenio  res  superata  nieo. 
Enmoriorjuvenis,  morientem  mundus  adorat : 

Ast  jacet  in  lachrymis  maesta  Iverua  parens". 

Dermicius,  (in  another  part  of  the  Tractalus)  is  called 
coaetaneus  (as  well  as)  consanguines. 

"We  are  indebted  to  Dr.  George  Sigerson,  F.  R.  U.,  for 
the  following  rendering  into  verse  of  Brother  Dermicius 
Epitaphium : 

"Epitaph  by  Brother  Dermicius,  the  Irish  Scot,  on  the 
death  of  the  Blessed  Father  Johannes  Scotus,  his  kinsman, 
then  recently  deceased ;  he  introduces  him  speaking  as 
follows : 

1  Traciatus  de  Vila  Joannis  Scoti,  p.  57-8,  Antwerp,  1655. 


COLQAN'S  Tractatus  de  Vita.  465 

"  Down  now  enfolds  me,1  in  liappy  Ulster,  where 
Its  vales  renowned  a  fruitful  harvest  bear ; 
My  sire  illustrious,  his  spouse  patrician  came 
Like  him  of  ancient  stock,  noble,  known  to  fame. 
Received  a  boy  in  the  Seraphic  fold 
The  model  of  a  perfect  faith  behold, 
I  pierced  the  secrets  of  the  Lord  Supreme, 
With  spirit  gifted  for  so  great  a  theme, 
A  youth  I  die,  dying,  a  world  reveres, 
But  mourning  Erinn  weeps  a  mother's  tears". 

TRANSLATION   OF  DIARMUID'S   EPITAPHIUM. 

The  translation  of  Brother  Diarmuid's  Epitaph  affords2 
an  opportunity  to  give  our  readers  some  account  of  this 
interesting  memento  of  our  great  Inis-Owen  writer  and 
Topographist.  The  Tractatus  de  Vita,  a  work  which  so 
far  as  publication  in  Ireland  is  concerned,  has  hitherto 
been  left  almost  unnoticed  (in  so  far  as  we  know) ;  as  Sir 
James  Ware's  notice  of  Colgan's  works  gives  only  the 
title  of  the  Tractatus  with  date  of  publication.3  The 
late  Dr.  Reeves  more  recently  followed  Ware,  giving  the 
title  of  the  Tractatus,  and  adding  only  this  reference, 
"  a  work  of  great  rarity  now", 4  still  more  recently  Webb, 
in  his  notice  of  Colgan,  does  not  even  mention  the  Trac- 
tatus.b  However  J.  T.  Gilbert,  does  justice  by  placing  all  of 

1  i.  e.  Downpatrick,  the  burial  place  of  SS.  Patrick,  Bridgid,  and 
Columkille. 

*  Tractatus  de  Vita  Joannis  Scoti,  Chap,  i,  pp.  58-9. 

3  Sir  James  Ware's  History  of  the  Wiiters  of  Irelantf,  translated  by 
Harris,  p.  140,  Book,  I,  chap,  xiv.,  Dublin,  1764. 

*  Ulster  Journal  of  Archaeology^  vol.  i,  p.  301,  Belfast,  1853. 

*  Compendium  oj  Irish  Biography  by  Alfred  Webb,  p.  85,  Dublin,  1878- 

59 


466  JNIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Colgan's  writings  in  his  indexes  and  references,  together 
with  several  extracts  and  fac-similes1.  Itwill  therefore  be 
seen  that  what  we  here  give  relating  to  the  Tractatus  de 
Vita,  may  interest  some  of  our  readers.  However  we 
shall  best  perform  our  task  by  placing  on  record  whatever 
had  an  interest  for  ourselves. 

This  epitaph  was  submitted  for  translation  to  an  emi- 
nent classical  scholar,  a  Fellow  of  Trinity  College,  Dublin. 
Having  been  fortunate  enough  to  obtain  his  rendering  of 
this  remarkable  epitaph,  we  cannot  do  full  justice  to  our 
obligation  to  the  translator  than  by  giving  the  full  text  of 
his  very  careful  translation  we  received  (dated,  February 
5th,  1889,)  and  for  which  we  here  gratefully  acknowledge 
our  indebtedness : — 

"I  subjoin  a  literal  translation  of  the  passage.  I  do 
not  know  where  the  City  of  Dunun  (qu,  Dunoon?)  or 
where  Ultonia  can  be ;  nor  do  I  know  whether  the  four 
verses  at  the  end  of  p.  2,  are  a  continuation  of  the  epitaph, 
or  quite  separate  having  nothing  at  all  to  say  to  it. 
Supposing  the  former,  I  presume  an  individual  called  F. 
Dermick  Scot,  got  one  Father  Colgan  to  write  an  epitaph 
in  Latin  elegiac  verse  on  his  relative  Father  John  Scot. 
1  Coaetaneus'  on  p.  2,  means  '  of  the  same  age'.  It  is  as 
far  as  I  can  see  the  only  word  not  strictly  classical,  and  it 
is  used  by  Apuleius  (about  150  A.D.),  and  in  the  Vulgate 
Gal.  1,  14,  '  and  profited  in  the  Jews'  religion  above 
everything  equal  in  my  own  nation'  ". 

"  The  verses  are  pretty  good.  Mr.  Doherty  should  have 
translated  the  last  two  thus", 

1  Account  of  fac-similes  of  National  Manuscripts  of  Ireland,  pp.  4,  9, 
28,  128,  314,  315,  352,  by  John  T.  Gilbert,  F.  S.  A.,  London,  1884. 


COLGAN'S  Tractatus  de  Vita.  467 

"  Hunc,  Colgane,  virum  mundo  coelogne  celebre*. 

Arguta  nobis  exprimis  arte  manus". 

TRANSLATION  BY  A  F.  T.  C.  D. 

"  Here  is  the  translation". 

"  The  Epitaph  of  F.  Dermick  Scot,  a  native  of  Ireland, 
on  the  death  of  the  late  Father  John  Scot  his  relation,  now 
deceased:  In  this  Epitaph  he  [F.  D.  S.,]  introduces  him 
[J.  S.,]  speaking  in  this  way".  [Then  follow  14,  latin  ele- 
giac verses,  which  are  not  at  all  too  bad.]"  ' 

"The  City  of  Dunan  holds  me;  prosperous  Ultonia 
holds  that  city,  a  land  made  famous  by  its  fertile  soil.  My 
father  was  renowned,  my  mother  was  Patricia;  and  the 
family  of  both  has  descended  from  the  nobility  of  old". 

"The  Order  of  the  Seraphic  Father  had  received  me,  then 
a  boy ;  I  was  an  example  of  faultless  sanctity,  I  penetrated 
into  the  secret  mysteries  of  the  Loud-sounding  Thunderer  ; 
so  profound  was  the  subject,  mastered  by  my  intellect. 
Lo !  I  die  a  youth,  the  world  worships  me  as  I  die  ;  but 
my  mother  Erin  lies  in  grief  and  tears" 

"Even  so  the  eloquent  muse  of •  Father  Colgan  pene- 
trates history,  aye  the  powerfully  written  volumes  of  the 
Fathers" 

.  ..."  This  man,  0  Colgan,  renowned  in  earth  and  heaven 
you  depict  for  us  by  thy  hand's  accurately-working  art". 

"  I  feel  some  difficulty  in  the  last  four  lines,  not  know- 
ing whether  they  are  part  of  the  original  epitaph  or  not". 

P.S. — "  I  cannot  recall  who  the  Seraphic  Father  was. 
The  expression  Loud-sounding  Thunderer,  (Altisonus 
Tonans,)  for  the  Christian  God  is  a  queer  transference 
from  the  Roman  Jupiter  and  Greek  Zeus". 

1  Ten  of  the  verse  lines  are  given  at  p.  4C4,  ante. 


468  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

"The  name  John  Scot  is  striking  enough  as  it  cannot 
but  recall  to  us  the  name  of  the  first  of  the  Scholastic 
writers,  who  was  also  a  native  of  Ireland,  the  celebrated 
Johannes  Scotus  Erigena  (the  latter  word  of  course  only 
meaning '  native  of  Ireland'.)  Splendid  account  of  him  in 
Uberweg's  Hist,  of  Philosophy,  90,  §  ". 

For  the  foregoing  exhausting  rendering  by  so  distinguish- 
ed a  Fellow  of  the  Universityjof  Dublin,  we  stand  indebted, 
and  for  which  we  desire  to  return  thanks.  It  is  confirma- 
tory of  the  late  Dr.  Keeves'  statement,  which  we  have 
already  quoted,  that  Colgan's  Tractatus  de  Vita,  Johannis 
Scotij  Doctoris  Subtilis  [not  Sublimis,  as  given  by  Dr. 
Reeves,  vol.  i.,  p.  301,  U.  J.  A.,  Belfast,  1853,]  is  "  a  work 
of  great  rarity  ?;ou»",  and  justifies  our  not  having  disposed 
of  it,  by  a  mere  'enumeration  of  the  title.  It  also  further 
illustrates  the  great  zeal,  Colgan,  an  Inis-Owen  writer,  had 
in  preserving  for  mother  Erin  the  renown  of  her  distinguish- 
ed son  Johannes  [Duns]  Scotus.1  Sir  James  Ware,  in  his 
notice  of  Luke  Wadding,  O.S.F.,  says,  "  As  the  celebrated 
John  Duns  Scotus  was  of  his  own  Order  and  his  Country- 
man",2 he  also  gives  a  lengthened  notice  of  JOHN  DUNS 
SCOTUS,  the  Subtile  Doctor.3 

It  is  only  fair  to  the  translator  to  say  that  the  word 
Dunum,  which  he  put  the  "qu"?  to,  was  before  now  difficult 
to  locate ;  consequently  both  English  and  Scotch  writers 
have  endeavoured  to  make  it  (not  Dunoon)  but  Dunstone, 
or  Emildune,  in  Northumberland.  However,  the  same 
difficulty  can  hardly  be  ascribed  to  the  location  of  Ultonia, 

»  Ante  p.  37-8. 

-  Harris'  Ware's  Irish  Writers,  Book  i,  pp.  130,  133,  Dublin,  1764. 

3  Harris'  Ware,  Irish  JFnYe;>yPP.  78,  70.  80,  Dublin,  1764. 


COLGAN'S  Tractates  de  Vita.  469 

for  if  the  translator  had  but  had  leisure  time  to  cast  a 
glance  over  Inquisitiones  Tempore  Eliz-Regince,  Inquisiti- 
onum  Cancellariae  Hiberniae  Repertorium,  he  would  have 
found  that  vol.  II.  is  devoted  to  ULTONIA,  an  Irish  province 
in  which  T.  C.  D.  possesses  many  confiscated  acres. 

"  Me  tenet  urbs  Dunum,  tenet  hanc  Ultonia  felix",  may 
be  read  thus : — 

"  The  City  of  Downpatrick  holds  me, 
and  prosperous  Ulster  holds  that  city". 
The  origin  of  the  title  prosperous,  as  applied  to  Ulster, 
appears  to  have  been  ancient. 

W.J.D. 

John  Davis,  of  the  Middle  Temple,  was  on  the  25th  No- 
vember, 1602,  granted  by  James  I.  the  office  of  principal 
and  general  solicitor  at  law  within  Ireland,  director-general, 
attorney-general,  and  legal  confiscator-general  to  James  I. 
Davis  knew  the  geography  of  Ultonia  to  perfection. 

"  INIS-OWEN". 

A  chapter  in  My  Lords  of  Strcgue  headed  "  Inis-Owen",1 
is  worthy  of  notice,  as  it  outlines  the  bold  scenery  that 
doubtless  helped  to  inspire  Colgan,  when  a  youth,  to 
devote  his  intellect  and  genius,  towards  elucidating  the 
history  and  topography  of  his  country.  The  picture  is 
drawn  by  an  eminent  artist,  as  he  viewed  the  scene  from 
the  "hill  crest"  of  Slieve-Snaught.  The  author,  Mr. 
Wingfield,  with  unmistakable  colours,  paints  the  landscape, 
thus :  "  Shane  and  Doreen  arrived  by  and  by  at  the  summit 

1  My  Lords  of  Slrogue,  by  Hon.  Lewis  Wingfleld. 


470  INIS-OWEN  AND    TIRCONNELL. 

of  a  hill  crest,  from  which  the  northern  half  of  the  promon- 
tory lay  spread  out  like  a  map  before  them.  Just  below  was 
a  white  speck — the  village  of  Carndonagh,  beyond  a  row  of 
lakes  [the  Mintiagh  Loughs]  tiny  mirrors  set  in  the  hill 
flank. — On  either  side  the  jagged  lines  of  Loughs  Foyle 
and  S  willy,  varied  with  many  a  peaked  headland  and  jut- 
ting point  and  shelving  bay  scooped  out  of  the  living  rock. 
In  front,  a  flat  stretch  on  which  cloud-shadows  were  play- 
ing hide-and-seek — a  bo-peep  dance  of  subtly-chequered 
tones ;  and  away  still  farther,  looming  through  the  mist? 
the  bluffs  of  Malin  Head,  the  extreme  limit,  to  the  north, 
of  Ireland.  As  they  looked,  the  mists  melted  in  eddying 
swirls  of  gold,  unveiling  an  expanse  of  immense  and  lonely 
sea,  dotted  with  fairy  islets  strewn  in  a  ravelled  fringe — 
the  long  span  of  the  blue-green  Atlantic,  marked  with  a 
line  of  white  where  it  seethed  and  moaned  and  lashed 
without  ceasing  against  the  foot  of  the  beetling  cliff*. 
"  "What  a  lovely  spot !"  Doreen  exclaimed,  as  she  sniffed 
the  brisk  breeze  ;  "  how  wild — how  desolate — how  weirdly 
fair !  not  the  vestige  of  a  dwelling  as  far  as  eye  can  reach 
— except  that  speck  below  us".  [The  speck  below,  was 
Carndonagh,  where  adjacent  on  the  left  bank  of  the 
Donagh  river  at  Priestown,  adjoining  the  site  of  Dom- 
nacli-mor-muiglie-Tocliair,  John  Colgan  was  born.1] 

"  Doreen  spoke  truly,  for  Inis-Owen  is  weirdly  fair" • 

"  During  the  warm  months  the  track  between  Carndonagh 
and  Malin  is  like  a  garden — an  oasis  of  rich,  damp,  dewy 
verdure  from  the  ever-dripping  vapours  of  the  Atlantic — 
an  expanse  of  emerald  mead  saturated  with  the  moisture 

1  See  p.  50,  ante,  and  p.  42,  Inis-Owtn  and  Tirconnell,(\st  Series.) 


SCENERY  ABOUT  COLGAN'S  BIRTH-PLACE.  471 

of  the   ocean.     Every  bush   and   bank  breaks   forth  in 

myriad  flowers.     Each  tarn  is  edged  with  blossom 

White  starry  water-lilies  clothe  the  lakelets.  The  bells  of 
the  fushia-hedges  glow  red  from  beneath  a  burden  of 
honeysuckle  and  dog-roses,  orange-lilies  and  sheets  of 
yellow  iris  [fleur-de-lis]  cast  ruddy  reflections  into  the 
streams^  while,  purple  heather  and  patches  of  wild  hearts- 
ease vie  with  each  other  in  a  friendly  struggle  to  mask  the 
wealth  of  green.  Strabragy  Bay  cuts  deep  into  [this 
northern  half  of]  the  peninsula". 

[Mr.  Wingfield  describes  how  a  rider  skirting  the  edges 
of  Tragh-brega  must  do  so]  "  with  patience",  "  as  he  finds 
himself  at  a  turn  in  the  pathway  on  the  summit  of  a  pre- 
cipice 1200  feet  above  water,  or  in  a  sheltered  cove  where 
waves  of  celadon  [pale  green]  and  malachite  plash  upon 
a  tawny  bed". 

"  Towards  Malin  Head  the  ground  rises  gradually 
from  a  shingly  beach  till  it  breaks  off  abruptly  to  seaward 
in  a  sheer  wall  of  quartz  and  granite — a  vast  frowning 
face,  vexed  by  centuries  of  tempest,  bothered  by  perennial 
storms,  comforted  by  the  clinging  embrace  of  vegetation, 
red  and  russet  heath  of  every  shade,  delicate  ferns  drooping 
from  cracks  and  fissures,  hoary  lichens,  velvet  mosses, 

warm  tinted  cranesbill ; 

The  white-crested  swell  which  never  sleeps  laps  round  its 
foot  in  curdled  foam  ;  for  the  bosom  of  the  Atlantic  is  ever 
breathing — heaving  in  arterial  throes  below,  however, 

calm  it  may  seem  on  the  surface" 

"  Yet   the   hardy   storm-children  of   Inis-Owen  love  the 

seals,  although  they  eat  their  fish" "There 

is  a  superstition  which  accounts  for  their  views  as  to  the 


472  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

seals,  for  they  believe  them  to  be  animated  by  the  souls  of 
deceased  maiden  aunts".  [We  must  dissent  from  Mr. 
Wingfield's  account  of  the  tradition  about  the  seals,  which 
he  says  exists  among  "  the  storm-children  of  Inis-Owen". 
These  "  hardy  storm-children"  inherit  no  such  tradition, 
as  a  belief  in  the  transmigration  of  souls. — The  Seanachi, 
often  passes  away  a  winter's  night,  by  reciting  to  his  youth- 
ful audience  who  collect  around  his  friendly  hearth,  tales 
of  wonder,  and  amusement,  among  which  we  have  heard 
the  story  of  the  Mermaid,  told  in  varying  forms,  but 
allusions  to  the  souls  of  departed  relatives  are  never  made 
the  subject  of  jest,  or  reference,  except  with  a  deep-seated 
reverence,  and  the  utterance  of  the  oft  expressed  prayer, 
"  May  the  Lord  have  mercy  on  her  or  his  soul".  We  have 
no  doubt  that  a  stranger  like  Mr.  Wingfield,  educated  at 
Eton  and  Bonn,  adopting  first,  the  stage  as  a  profession, 
and  passing  through  the  Franco-German  war  as  a  surgeon 
and  newspaper  correspondent  at  the  Siege  of  Paris,  may 
have  been  told  of  the  tradition,  by  someone  not  in  touch 
with  the  feelings  of  the  people  of  Inis-Owen,  and  which  he 
afterwards  wove  into  .the  chapter  on  "  Inis-Owen"  in  My 
Lords  of  Strogue,  a  novel  dealing  with  Irish  affairs  at  the 
time  of  the  Union.  However,  the  most  recent  production 
inspired  or  destined  to  defame  the  instincts  of  the  people, 
is  an  article  entitled  Carndonagh,  in  an  English  Magazine1 
by  an  anonymous  contributor,  who  describes  himself  "  as 

having  been  for  fifteen  years  chaplain  of  D Convict 

Prison".  The  article  bears  no  relation  whatever  to  Carn- 
donagh,  except  its  misrepresentation,  it  is  also  bedaubed 

1  Pall  Mall  Magazine,  conducted  partly  by  Lord  F.  Hamilton,  M.P., 
Dec.  1693,  p.  224. 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  473 

with  hideous  sketches  on  which  C.  E.  FRIPP.  appears  as 
their  author.  We  have  quoted  from  Mr.  Wingfield's 
work,  on  account  of  its  local  interest,  as  it  displays  the 
ability  of  a  painter,  who  has  graphically  portrayed  scenery 
with  which  we  have  been  familiar  since  our  boyhood, 


XXXII. 
O'DOHERTY'S   REVOLT. 

The  steel  engraving  from  which  the  cut  on  next  page 
has  been  reduced,  appeared  in  part  9  of  The  History  of 
Ireland,  by  Thomas  Wright,  M.A.F.S.A.  The  original 
drawing  to  illustrate  an  incident  in  Irish  History,  was  by 
II.  Warren,  Esq.1 

A  detailed  account  of  the  incident  is  given  by  the 
Author.*  O'Donovan  in  a  note3  tells  how  the  incident 
depicted  in  the  above  zincograph  has  been  related  by 
Dultagh  McFirbis,  i  e. — "  Then  immediately,  Daniel  O'Don- 
nell  went  to  the  topp  of  the  Tower,  where  he  threw  the 
happyest  throw  or  cast  that  ever  was  cast  in  Ireland 
towards  Rowry,  since  Lugh  Lamoda  cast  the  Tabhiiill*  and 
lutt  him  with  a  great  stone,  so  that  he  was  instantly  bruised 

1  For  the  London  Printing  and  Publishing  Company  »  Limited. 

a  Inis-owen  and  Tirconnell  (1st  Series),  pp.  28-33. 

»  Note  r,  p.  988,  F.  J/. 

4  "  Tabhall  is  a  machine  believed  to  have  been  a  sling".  It  was  by  a 
stone  cast  from  a  taball  that  Balor  of  Tory  Island  was  killed  by  the  son 
of  his  daughter,  from  whom  Port-a-deilg  in  Tory  derives  its  name,  see 
note  r,  p.  17,  18,  O'Donovan's  F.M.,  vol.  I.,  Dublin,  1851. 

GO 


INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 


THE  CASTLE  OF  THE  1m^, 
INCH  CASTLE-— (INIS-OWEN). 


CAHIR  [CHARLES]  O'DOHERTY.  475 

all  to  the  ground and  by  that  throw  ....... 

Daniel  [not  only  preserved  his  own  life  but]  the  Lordship 
of  TirconneH". 

The  island  of  Inch  has  also  been  the  origin  of  and  index 
to  a  breach  of  faith,  that  produced  another  chapter  of  Irish 
history,  in  which  some  of  the  chief  actors  have  been  un- 
fairly presented  to  posterity. 

CAHIR  O'DOHERTY. — HIS  DEFAMERS  REFUTED. 

English  historians,  and  some  Irish  writers  following  in 
their  footsteps,  have  hitherto  been  diligent  in  their 
purpose  to  blacken  the  chivalrous  daring  of  Cahir 
O'Doherty  in  1608.  We  deem  it  only  just  in  the  interest 
of  truth,  to  point  out  here,  that  the  prejudiced  accounts 
given  by  the  king's  attorney,  Sir  John  Davis,  who. swept 
away  more  by  his  Inquisitions  and  Jury  empaneling,  under 
Chichester's  directions,  than  were  struck  down  by  the 
sword — these  insincere  accounts  have  been  repeated  by 
almost  every  writer  since  his  time,  with  the  honourable 
exception  of  Sir  Henry  Docwra,  who,  though  an  Englishman, 
was  a  soldier.  In  an  able  paper  published  in  1864,  the 
writer,  Arthur  Gerald  Geoghegan,  who  was  then  residing 
at  Derry  as  a  high-class  civil  servant,  says: — "I  consider 
two  of  the  most  remarkable  men  of  the  period 
(1596-1608)  connected  with  Derry,  have  been  unfairly 
treated  by  posterity,  i.e.,  Sir  Cahir  O'Doherty  and  Sir 
Henry  Docwra".  "  A  premeditated  political  rebellion 
having  been  attributed  to  the  former,  when  it  was  nothing 
more  than  a  sudden  outburst  caused  by  gross  personal 
provocation,  whilst  the  latter,  though  one  of  the  ablest 


476  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

captains  of  the  day,  has  been  "overlooked  or  coldly  ac- 
knowledged, even  in  the  very  city  that  owes  its  corporate 
origin  and  existence  to  his  exertions".1  In  consequence 
of  Docwra  objecting  to  be  made  a  pliant  tool  to  be  used  by 
sordid  bishops  and  others,  he  had  to  defend  his  own  charac- 
ter from  such  adventurers  as  Paulett,  Montgomery,  and 
Chichester ;  who  enriched  themselves  under  cover  of  their 
devotion  to  the  king !  Afew  extracts  from  original  documents 
some  issued  under  Pawlett's  own  hand,  taken  from  the  State 
Papers,  will  suffice  to  place  the  character  of  that  braggart,  in 
its  proper  place  for  the  future ;  whilst  Captain  Harte's  refuta- 
tion of  the  alleged  massacre  by  O'Doherty  at  Culmore  Fort, 
has  hitherto  been  left  unnoticed  by  the  blood-curdling  his- 
torians. In  future  writers  will  require  to  notice  the 
official  refutation  from  the  hand  of  a  worthy  soldier,  though 
an  invader  of  other  men's  rights,  that  is  here  brought  under 
the  notice  of  all,  who  desire  to  examine  and  ascertain  the 
truth.  Dr.  Collier  almost  alone,  gives  a  plain  and  reasonable 
account  of  the  event : 

"Paulet,  governor  of  Deny,  struck  Sir  Cahir  O'Dolierty, 
Chief  of  Inishowen,  the  blow  cost  blood.  Seizing  the  fort 
of  Culmore,  O'Doherty  took  Deny  and  killed  Paulct. 
But  the  flame  of  revolt  was  quickly  trampled  out — Wing- 
field  arid  Chichester  combined  their  forces,  and  the  death 
of  O'Doherty  in  a  Skirmish  brought  the  affair  to  an  end"* 

Hist.  Ireland,  for  Schools,  by  William  Francis  Collier, 
LL.D.,  T.C.D.  (Sixth  edition),  p.  130,  published  by 
Marcus  Ward  and  Company,  London  and  Belfast. 

>  Kilkenny  Arch.  Soc.  Trans.  Vol.  IV.  (New  Series)  p,  388,  Dublin, 
1864.  Mr.  Geogliegan  was  the  author  of  the  fine  poem  entitled  "  The 
Monks  of  Kilcrea."  See  Ballad  Poetry  of  Ireland^  edited  by  C.  G.  Duffy, 
p.  227,  3rd  edition,  Dublin,  18*5. 


t)ocAHUAi5  477 

Among  the  "remarkable  features  of  the  parish  of  Kil- 
bexey  [from  St.  Bicseach,  commemorated  June  28.]  but  of 
whom  there  were  no  remembrance  in  1837,  when  the  place 
was  visited  by  O'Donovan.1  From  a  letter  from  New 
Pass,  Oct  24th,  1837,  O'Donovan  gives  an  extract  from 
Sir  Henry  Piers',  [or  Pierce]  Memoirs ;  which  are  as  follows ; 
viz., '  The  most  curious  feature  to  be  noticed  is  O'Doherty  s 
Bush  and  Camp*,  on  the  demesnes  belonging  to  the  Abbey 
of  Tristernagh ;  where  the  great  O'Doherty,  with  his  follow- 
ers and  forces  to  the  number  of  600  men,  are  said  to 
have  been  encamped  at  a  hillock  where  grew  a  thorn  bush, 
called  by  the  natives,  from  his  defeat,  "  O'Doherty 's 
Bush"  (although,  since  that,  on  another  occasion  it  hath 
another  name),  he  having  sat  here  for  many  days,  was  at 
last  sat  upon  by  one  of  the  Queen's  [Elizabeth's]  captains, 
whose  name  or  the  peculiar  time  I  could  never  learn". 
[1599].3  "  After  a  brisk  engagement  on  both  sides,  some  of 
O'Doherty's  chief  men  falling,  he  gave  ground  and  re- 
treated, hoping  to  be  received  and  protected  by  Nugent, 
then  tenant  within  the  Abbey  walls,  but  Nugent,  though 
it  is  said  he  had  been  kind  to  him  before,  seeing  him 
fly,  and  the  Queen's  forces  at  his  heels  [the  distance  from 
the  Bush  to  the  abbey  was  only  about  160  yards,  so  that 
the  distance  for  flying  was  short,  as  Nugent]  denied  him 

1  "As  after  1172,  the  patronage  of  Mainister  Bhicseach,  or  Tristernagh 
Monastery,  was  transferee!  to  the  B.  V.  M.,  when  the  great  Galfridus  de 
Constantino  erected  at  t)|\ift)eA^nAcTi  (i.e.  Tristernagh,  which  means 
thistles  or  briars),  a  Priory  for  Canons  Regular,  and  dedicated  it  to  the 
B.  V.  M.  O'Donovan's  MSS.,  Letters,  Survey  Westmeal/i  in  K.I.  A. 

a  "  O'Doherty's  Bush",  is  shown  on  the  Ordnance  Survey  of  Cok  West- 
rneath,  Sheet  No,  II,  in  the  parish  of  KilHxey. 

3  We  believe  it  was  after  the  battle  of  the  Curlews,  where  O'Doherty 
was  one  of  O'Donnell's  chief  leaders,  and  where  he  led  (he  successful 
charge  of  foot  against  Sir  Conyers  Clifford. 


478  INIS-OWEN 'AND  TIRCONNELL* 

entrance,  thus  he  and  his  men,  [having  the  gates  closed 
against  them]  "  missing  of  this  hope,  made  but  very  weak  re- 
sistance", [finding  they  had  been  entrapped,  when  they  ex- 
pected at  least  to  be  afforded  an  opportunity  for  defen- 
ding the  place]  "  the  bulk  of"  [O'Doherty's  forces]  "  were 
miserably  slain  under  the  walls  of  the  Abbey,  few  or  none 
escaping  [except  SCAAII  O'Doherty]  "  whetlier  any  found 
quarter  1  cannot  find11.  (This  is  Sir  Henry  Piers'  account 
.written  in  1682,'  and  he  adds  :  "  This  account,  tho'  lame,  is 
the  best  1  ever  could  learn  of  this  action".  [O'Doherty 
died  in  1601,  so  that  the  tradition  was  fresh  at  the 
date  of  Piers'  Memoir].  O'Donovan,  who  visited  the 
site  of  O'Doherty's  Camp  and  Bush,  writes  :*  "  The 
Bush  here  referred  to  is  still  in  existence,  but  very 
nearly  decayed,  being  hollow  in  the  centre  up  to  the 
very  top,  and  little  of  it  remains  [in  1837]  but  the 
outer  shell  which  however  conveys  with  all  sap  to  the 
branches".  It  is  now  shown  on  the  plan"  [i.e.,  on  the  Ord- 
nance Survey  map  of  Westmeath,  Sheet  No.  11,  at  a  distance 
of  about  167  yards  westward  from  Tristernagh  Abbey,  on 
the  south  border  of  the  road  drive  leading  from  the 
Abbey-House  to  Templecross  burying  ground,  and  a  little 
eastward  of  a  small  road  bridge,  from  which  the  drive  pro- 
ceeds with  a  circular  turning  towards  Tristernagh-House, 
which  has-been  erected  from  the  ruins  of  the  Abbey.3] 

1  Collectanea,  vol.  1  p.  72-3,  Dublin,  1786. 

* "  Newpass,  Oct.  24,  1837.  Ordnance  Surrey,  Westmeath.  MSS. 
Letters  in  K.  I.  Academy. 

*  "About  1797,  Sir  Pigot  Piers  tore  down  the  Monastery  to  obtain 
materials  for  enlarging  Tristernagh-House.  This  house  from  its  dilapi- 
dated state,  it  is  said,  suggested  to  Miss  Edgeworth  [the  Irish  Novelist], 
the  first  idea  of  her  famous  ttory  of  Castle  rack-rent". 


470 


Lough  Iron  lies  about  200  yards  east  from  the  Abbey,  and 
is  204  feet  above  Ordnance  datum,  whilst  the  ground 
about  the  Abbey-House,  is  only  five  feet  higher,  rising  to 
62  feet  higher  at  Crossberry  bull-ring,  and  generally  36  feet 
higher  than  the  ground  around  the  Abbey.  It  will  thus  be 
seen  that  the  captain  whose  name  or  the  particular  time  was 
unknown  to  Sir  Henry  Piers  ?  had  all  the  advantage  of  posi- 
tion inhis  attack  on  SeaanO'Doherty,  together  with  entrance 
to  the  protection  of  the  Abbey  walls  denied,  which  had 
been  expected  to  be  given  by  Nugent. 

There  the  massacre  of  the  Inis-owcn  men,  became  com- 
paratively easy.  As,  no  doubt  the  "  weak  resistance"  refer- 
red to  by  Sir  Henry  Piers,  more  than  probable  arose  from 
Nugent's  anxiety  to  exhibit  his  loyalty,  in  addition  to  deny- 
ing O'Doherty  admittance  to  the  Abbey,  contributed  as- 
sistance to  Elizabeth's  captain  by  assailing  O'Doherty  from 
within,  so  that  Sir  Henry  Piers'  inability  to  find"  whether  any 
found  quarter"  [can  easily  be  understood.]  'O'Doherty 
with  his  forces  came  out  of  Connaught'.  [This  must  have 
been  immediately  after  the  battle  of  the  Curliews,  where 
O'Doherty  with  his  swordsmen  made  so  much  havoc  in  the 
overwhelming  defeat  given  by  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell,  to 
Sir  Conyers  Clifford,  when  the  whole  English  army  was 
defeated,  and  the  Queen's  President  of  Connaught  was 
killed.]  O'Donovan  says  further :  "  This  great  O'Doherty 
must  have  been  Shane  Ogo,  father  ofCahir", 


480  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Tradition  was  right  as  told  by  Sir  Henry  Piers,  as 
to  the  place  where  O'Doherty  came  from ;  when  he  says 
"  O'Doherty  ,and  his  fprces  came  out  of  Connaught",  as 
O'Donovan  adds  in  his  letter,  "  this  great  O'Doherty  must 
have  been  Sir  Shane  [i.e.,  John  Oge]  father  of  Cahir,  but  if 
so,  he  must  have  come  from  the  North  [Inis-Owen]  not  out 
of  Connaught,  but  perhaps  he  had  first  gone  into  Connaught 
in  the  Army  of  O'Donriell".  [John  Oge  O'Doherty  was 
one  of  the  leaders  under  Eed  Hugh  O'Donnell,  in  the  battle 
of  the  Curliews,  where  with  his  swordsmen  he  contributed 
to  the  total  defeat  of  the  English  forces,  led  in  person  by 
Elizabeth's  President  of  Connaught,  Sir  Conyers  Clifford, 
a  brave  man,  who  lost  his  life  singly  in  his  endeavour 
to  stop  the  rush  of  his  own  retreating  and  defeated  troops] 
"  and  was  sent  to  Meath  to  look  after  prey.  There  is  still 
preserved  in  the  College  Library  (T.C.D  )  a  poem  com- 
memorating all  the  [warlike  exploits]  which  O'Donovan 
styles  "plundering  excursions"  of  this  Shane  O'Doherty 's. 
[Just  as  if  the  forcible  kidnapping  of  the  eldest  sons  of  all 
the  Iiish  chiefs  by  the  English,  and  the  burning,  pil- 
laging and  massacre  in  every  district,  they  could  forcibly 
enter  upon,  were  the  only  lawful  mode  of  procedure 
applicable  in  war  with  an  honourable  enemy]  ?  O'Dono- 
van proceeds:  "but  I  fear  his  bard  omitted  this 
one  into  Tristernagh,  where  his  people  were  so  miserably 
slaughtered.  Mr.  Petrie  has  had  this  poem  copied,  and 
I  wish  it  would  be  procured  to  see  if  this  attack  on 
Kilbixey  or  Tristernagh  be  mentioned  in  it".1 

t  O'Donovan's  Ordnance  Surrey  MSS.,  Wrstnifath,  p.  140,  vol.  II. 


MAC  seA^n  UA  "OOCAHUAIS.    481 

For  the  knowledge  of  the  existence  of  the  poem  here 
referred  to,  we  are  indebted  to  O'Dono  van's  research 
and  to  Petrie's  having  procured  O'Curry's  services  for  its 
transcription  and  preservation.  The  entire  poenfltonsists 
of  two  hundred  and  fourteen  verse  lines.  After  con- 
siderable search  we  were  able  to  compare  our  copy  with 
O'Curry's  transcription.  We  give  here  sixteen  lines  that 
may  interest  some  of  the  not  yet  extinct  bearers  of  the 
name  of  11  A  "OOCAJICAI^,  in  Inis  owen  and  elsewhere.  The 
remainder  of  this  poem  now  in  our  possession  we  hope  to 
give  on  a  future  occasion.  The  following  portion,  with  a 
translation  we  submitted  to  the  inspection  and  correction 
of  Douglas  Hyde,  LL.D.  It  will  be  noticed  that  the 
•'  Bard"  must  have  been  a  bard  of  the  schools;  as  even 
O'Curry  has  had  to  gloss  some  of  the  expressions  used. 
The  poem  which  Petrie  got  O'Curry  to  transcribe,  we 
believe  was  composed  by  one  of  the  Mac-  an-  Wards,  after 
Shane  Oge  O'Doherty's  death  in  1601. 

t)din  AH  UA  *oocAtu;Ai5. 


1HAC  SeAAin  fbof  -oil, 
t)o  cAit  *oeic  noi-oce  An 
te  cctiliAt)  te 


A  trouAif 

£    1O1T)f\Ut) 

*Oo  -OCA]^  ]*oi\\  &AifiAin  IA^  pn 


1  Gloss,  by  O'Curry.  -Do  In  \*e  iccottx>4£CA  E.  C.   LHe  was  in  Con* 
naught.] 

61 


482  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Hug  O  T)ome  -06015  An  -06015 

C]\eAc  CAC  UAC  -OA  tiAirii  "oeom 
-A  coifi  nip  yuipeA-o  ACA 
x>uit,  '- 


GACCAC  t>).-om 
PA 
Jem 
*Oo 


TRANSLATION. 

"  John  son  of  John  of  the  faithful  tribe, 

Spent  ten  nights  at  that  time 

In  the  west,  in  Ubhall  and  in  Erris, 

In  waging  battle  with  impetuous  Flaing. 

O'Dochartj  of  the  fresh  gifts 
(The  land  of  his  hostings,  so  proclaiming.) 
Who  kindled  in  the  east,  Emania  afterwards 
And  to  the  east  Earaiph  of  Liiford. 

He  brought  from  Deny,  on  two  occasions 
A  spoil  of  steeds,  taken  from  them  by  force, 
His  rights  were  not  left  unsung 
By  the  banished  and  sorrowful  poets. 

This  knight  of  deeds,  succoured  the  Gall  [Spaniard] 
At  the  side  of  Saoiltreach,  Sioth-call  ? 
A  gentle  Scion,  with  whom  each  prophet  rides, 
That  was  the  way  with  Shawn  [O'Docharty  !]  " 

1  Gloss,  t)uilbij\  ?  W.  J.  D. 

2  Gloss,  by  O'Curry.    CA  fi  AIC  fco  ?  E.G.  [Where  is  this  place  ?  B.C.  1 


ST.   BOEDAN.  483 

MASSACRE  OF  INIS-OWEN  MEN. 

It  was  also  during  this  time  that  Sir  John  O'Doherty,  when 
supporting  the  orders  of  Ked  Hugh  O'Donnell,  by  making  a 
diversion  into  Westmeath,  when  at  Kilbixey  Abbey,  near 
Lough-Iron,  SeAAn,  with  about  about  600  of  his  people, 
were  entrapped  towards  the  walls  of  the  abbey,  where  the 
most  of  his  followers  were  slaughtered,  and  "  no  quarter 


MONASTERY   OF  TRISTERNAGII. 

O'Dono  van  says  :  —  "Sir  Henry  Piers  describes  this 
edifice  as  it  stood  in  his  time,  1782". 

"This  monastery  was  built  in  the  form  of  a  cross,  having 
in  the  centre  a  tower  about  thirty-feet  above  the  general' 
building".2 

ST.  BOB  DAN. 

This  district  of  Westmeath,  had  perhaps,  for  the  men  ot 
Inis-owen,  a  greater  attraction  than  that  attached  to 
hostile  "  excursions".  O'Dono  van,  the  modern  expounder 
of  Irish  topography  as  arranged  by  Colgan,  shows  that 
Taughboyne  on  the  southern  .margin  of  Inis-owen,  i.  e., 
UeAcbAoicen,  is  also  the  name  of  a  townland  in  the  parish 
of  Churchtown  in  Meath,  where  the  15th  August  is  patron 
day,  and  that  the  name  Taughboyne  was  given  to  it  from  a. 
church  of  St.  Baoithen  then  (1SS7)  lying  in  ruins  in  its  eas- 
tern part,  Colgan  speaks  of  the  church  in  these  words,3 

1  Extract  from  Sir  Henry  Piers'  Memoirs,  given  by  Vallancey  in 
the  Collectanea,  vol.  i. 

*  Collectanea  de  Rebus  Hibrenlds  vol.  1,  p.  71,  second  edition,  Dublin, 
1786. 

3  4,A,S.S.  p.  369,  Coll. 


481  INIS  OWI!N  AND  TIRCONNELI*. 

"  and  moreover,  another  manor  near  Uisneach  in  Meatli, 
so  it  is  evident  that  there  was  a  second  edifice  representing 
the  name  of  St  Baithen  .in"1  every  county  of  these,  viz. 
Teach-Baoithen  in  Meath,  Teach-Baoithen  in  Tirconnell* 
and  Teach-Baoithen  in  Airteach  near  Cruachan ;  "  there  is 
a  third  Church  of  St.  Baoithen  near  Mount  Uisneach  in 
Meath.  The  calendar  makes  mention  of  the  church,  Jan 
9. — "  Buadain  of  Tigbaithan  in  Westmeath — There  is  a  well 
called  Tobar  Baoithin,  i.  e.,  Fons.  S.  Baotini  in  Glenstown'' 
townland,  in  this  parish.*  Therefore,  S?.  Bu>.idan  *  of 
CuldafF,  Taugliboyne  and  Da  Wadag,  and  St.  Buadan  of 
Meath,  brought  remembrances  of  home  around  the  warriors 
of  Inis-owen,  before  they  fell  in  1599,  under  the  trea- 
cherous ruins  of  Tristernagh  Abbey. 

SIXTEENTH  CENTURY.— LAST    QUARTER 

To  enable  an  impartial  examination  to  be  made  of  the 
position  in  which  Cahir  O'Doherty  found  himself  placed, — 
when  only  a  youth  of  sixteen  years  of  age, —  at  the  time  of  the 
death  of  his  father  John  O'Doherty,  January,  1601,  It 
will  be  necessary  to  point  to  the  historical  influences  that 
surrounded  him,  and  the  traditions  of  his  house,  that  also 
came  down  to  him  as  an  inheritance,  alon^j  with  his  pc- 
trimony  of  all  Inis-Owcn 

During  the  last  quarter  of  the  sixteenth  century,  the 
means  adopted  by  the  English  Council  and  their  Lord- 

1  Notes  A.  S.,  17,  18, 19,  p.  370. 

*  MSS.  Letters.    Ordnance  Survey,    by  O'Donovan,    p.  220-1,   Co. 
Westmeath,  vol.  1,  Library,  R.  I.  A.    See  also  vol.  11.,  p.  149. 
1  p.  360  ante,  and  p.  1J9, 1  and  T.  (1st  Series). 


SIXTEENTH  CENTUKT — LAST  QUARTER.  485 

Deputies  of  Ireland,  to  extend  the  power  of  Elizabeth 
over  the  north,  especially  over  Tyrone  and  Tirconnell,  can- 
not be  looked  back  upon  with  any  degree  of  pride,  by  those 
•who  would  flatter  themselves  that  everything  done,  on 
the  English  side  was  noble,  and  everything  ignoble  was 
certain  to  emanate  from  the  Irish. 

Fortunately  for  the  elucidation  of  truth,  and  the  refuta- 
tion of  unfair  historians,  who  have  since  blackened  the  Celtic 
race  and  the  reputation  of  the  Irish  leaders  of  the  period, 
— the  failures  of  succeeding  viceroys  to  settle  the  Irish 
question,  caused  them  to  preserve  the  records  of  their 
proceedings,  these  exhibit  in  their  contents  an  utter  disre- 
gard to  any  nobler  aim  than  that  of  grasping  deceit,  and  a 
total  want  of  good  faith  towards  the  Irish.  Thereby,  through 
their  own  correspondence,  as  it  appears  in  the  State  papers 
we  obtain  an  insight  into  the  duplicity  and  double  dealing^ 
practised  by  the  English  executive,  and  their  servants  in 
Ireland,  ?  which  we  find  confirmed  under  the  hand  and  seal 
of  many  of  those  who  carried  out  the  ignoble  work  of  track- 
ing and  hunting  the  Irish,  as  "wolves  and woodkerne",1 
so  that  the  hunters  might  become  possessed  of  the  lands, 
irrespective  of  any  desire  to  act  justly  to  wards  the  ancient 
Irish  owners. 

Our  references  shall  be  brief.  It  was  during  this  period  in 
156 6,  an  attempt  was  made  to  establish  a  colony  at  Deny, 
which  was  a  complete  failure,  as  before  the  end  of  the 
century  "not  a  stone  stood  upon  a  stone  of  the  city  that 
was  to  be  established,  that  it  might  curb  the  power  of 
the  Kinel-Connel  and  the  Kinel-Owen".* 

1  See  Land  Tenures  of  Ireland,  p.  68,  by  George  Sigerson,  F.  L  S. 
London,  1871. 
»  Calendar,  S.  P.,  15D2-OG,  p.  305,  London,  1800. 


486  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

The  kidnapping  of  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell,  heir  to  the 
Princedom  of  Tirconnell  at  Rathmullen  in  1587, -and  his 
incarceration  in  Dublin  Castle,  was  an  act  of  treachery 
only  capable  of  being  "  hatched"  by  free-booters,  instead 
of  having  been  done  by  the  Lord-Deputy  and  Elizabeth's 
Council,  by  means  of  a  decoy  merchant  ship,  "  black 
hatched  deceptive",  fitted  out  as  a  concealed  pirate.1 

O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT. 

Previous  to  the  publication  of  the  Flight  of  the  Earls,* 
most  English  historians  appear  to  have  based  their  references 
in  regard  to  Cahir  O'Doherty's  revolt  upon  no  safer  foun- 
dation than  the  account  given  in  an  anonymous  pamphlet 
having  for  its  title — "  News  from  Ireland  concerning  the  late 
action  and  rebellion  of  Sir  Cahir  0'Doughertie,andF.M. 
R.  Mad  Davy  \Felimey  Reagh  Mac  David]  with  the  cun- 
ning and  deceitful  surprizing  of  Captain  Hart^his  wife,  and 
children  .....  and  the  inhuman  murlher  of  Sir  G. 

Paulet .." 

"Newly  imprinted  andinlarged"  London,  1608.  403 
Though  anonymous,  the  pamphlet  had  been  imprinted 
and  inlargedin.  London,  in  1608,  and  purports  to  give  a 
report  of  the  "  late  action  "  [in  which  Cahir  O'Doherty 
was  killed  in  July,  1608].  The  late  Rev.  C.  P.  Meehan  felt 
so  uncomfortable  for  having  been  misled  by  the'statements 
containedin  the  above  mentioned"  Pamphlet",  thatnotonly 

1  See  p.  403-4,  ante. 

1  The  Fate  and  Fortunes  of  Tyrone  and  Tirconnell,  by  Rev.  C.  P. 
Median,  Dublin,  1870. 

8  Pamp/tltt  in  the  Library,  B  K'sh  Museum,  London,  1608,  4.o  Cata. 
logue  No.  G01,  4-  31. 


O'DOHERTY'S  EEVOLT.  487 

did  he  "express  his  regret  to  the  Author  so  early  as  1874, 
when  he  favoured  him  with  his  personal  visits,  when  we 
were  engaged  (near  his  church  of  SS.  Michael  and  John) 
in  rebuilding  old  Essex  Bridge  (now  Grattan  Bridge),, 
Dublin.  But,  in  a  letter  to  the  Author,  dated  November  1 , 
1884,  now  in  our  possession,  Father  Meehan  wrote:— 
"  Kindly  let  me  know  what  remains  of  Buncrana  Castle, 
as  it  was  in  the  time  of  your  misguided  namesake,  to 
whom  I  have  unintentionally  done  a  wrong  for  which  I 
am  anxious  to  make  reparation.  I  saw  a  photo'  of  Buncrana 
Castle,  which  looks  to  be  a  modern  house.  Tell  me  all  you 
know  of  the  Castle— is  there  any  part  of  the  upper  storey 
surviving  ?  Is  there  anything  of  the  ancient  dining-room  ? 
How  far  from  Culmore?  Is  there  a  bog  near  the  latter? 
Ever  truly  yours, 

C.  P.  MEEHAN". 

We  mention  this  "  castle  of  the  O'Doherty's"  in  Inis- 
Owen  and  Tirconnell  (1st  series  p.  65).  All  that  remains  of 
the  ancient  castle  is  about  10  feet  of  the  base  of  what  was 
originally  a  square  tower  or  keep.  Buncrana  Castle,  of 
which  the  "  photo"  as  seen  by  Fr.  Meehan  as  he  says  above 
is  "  a  modern  house",  "  constructed  by  Sir  John  Vaughan, 
1 716.  (This  replies  to  Fr.  M.'s  queries.)  It  doubtless  occu- 
pies the  site  of  a  building  that  had  been  there  about  the  year 
1607,  and  which  was  being  enlarged  by  O'Doherty,  at  the 
time  Paulet,  Montgomery,  and  Chichester  wanted  his  castles 
and  his  cantred  of  Inis-Owen  for  themselves.  An  account  of 
a  raid  through  Inis-Owen,  made  during  the  time  O'Doherty 
was  in  revolt,  tells  of  how  Buncrana  fared  at  the  hands  of 
a  band  of  warriors  ?  as  told  by  Sir  Thomas  Kidgeway, 


486  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIROONNELL. 

Treasurer  of  Ireland,  in  language  only  becoming  to  be  used 
by  a  gang  of  free-booters,  "that  12  or  13  of  them  rode  to 
a  town  and  castle  of  O'Dohcrty's,  named  Boncranough 

from  whence  the  inhabitants  immediately 

flying  (having  killed  only  some  seven  or  eight  swordsmen) 
they  could  not  abstain  from  burning  it,  as  well  from  anger, 
as  for  example's  sake.  However  the  walls  of  the  castle 
stand  firm,  and  will  soon  be  made  a  good  receptacle  for 
such  as  the  king  shall  send  there",  Ridgeicay's  letter  to 
Salisbury,  dated  from  the  Treasury,  Dublin,  July  3,  1608".1 

DAVIS  AT  WOKK. 

Sir  John  Davis  was  early  in  the  field,  obtaining  news 
of  O'Doherty's  defeat  and  death,  in  drawing  up  and  pub- 
lishing proclamations  for  enforcement  of  legal  confiscations. 
And  as  a  believer  in  the  influence  of  the  planets,  he  secured 
the  immediate  seizure  of  O'Doherty's  lands.  As  an 
Astrologer,  he  pointed  out  the  train  of  ill  luck  that  attended 
Tuesdays  during  the  continuance  of  O'Doherty's  campaign, 
which  though  of  short  duration,  had  caused  the  whole 
forces  of  the  English  Army  then  in  Ireland  to  be  put  into 
motion  in  order  to  put  it  down.* 

However,  the  History  of  Ireland  had  to  be  written  to 
satisfy  the  English  conscience  !  generally  by  showing  that 
everything  noble  and  exalted  had  been  done  by  English 
statesmen,  and  their  army  of  heroes  and  divines  sent  for  the 
reclaiming,  extirpation,  extinction,  and  good  example  to  the 
Irish  savage  ! 

1  State   Papers,  Ireland,  vol.  224,  H7,  copy  of  in  Calendar,  S.  P.,  p. 
599(1606-8),  London  :    1874. 

2  MacGeoghegan's  History  of  Ireland,  translated  from  the  French  by 
P.  Kelly,  p.  560,  Dublin:  1844. 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  483 

Imagine  the  unselfish  generosity  displayed  towards 
O'Doherty,  a  boy  of  16,  by  Davis  and  Salisbury  "by 
having  him  not  only  graced  with  Knighthood",  but 
actually  "  made  a  Justice  of  the  Peace,  and  a  Commissioner 
in  most  of  the  Commissions  that  came  to  that  County",  [for 
the  purpose  of  giving  a  legal  colouring  to  the  titles  of  ad' 
venturers]  "but  was  also  treated  with  all  due  respect  upon 
all  occasions",  [as  witness  his  cowardly  and  brutal  treat- 
ment by  Paulett],  "  and  he  on  the  other  side  contracted  an 
intimate  friendship  with  the  Chief  of  the  English,  and  par- 
ticularly with  Captain  Hart,  Governor  of  Culmore,  to  whose 
son  he  was  godfather,  and  to  whom  he  had  sold  3jOOO  acre* 
of  land  for  ready  money".  This  is  a  plausible  story  of  CoxV 
if  true,  but  in  the  interest  of  truth,  we  are  compelled  to 
show  that  it  is  far  removed  from  that  well,  wherein  it  is 
believed  truth  in  this  instance  lay  submerged ! 

We  are  asked  to  believe  all  this  was  an  act  of  dis- 
interested kindness,  which  was  repaid  by  the  usual  form 
of  Irish  ingratitude,  of  not  calmly  thanking  the  generous 
usurper  for  his  cowardly  insults t  Cox  tells  of  "the 
invitation  given  by  O'Doherty  to  Captain  Hart,  his 
wife,  and  child  to  visit  O'Dohertv's  wife  at  Buncranagh, 
and  of  O'Doherty 's  complaint  to  Hart,  that  he  had 
received  affront  from  the  English,  especially  from  Sir 
George  Paulett  (who  they  say  gave  him  a  box  on  the  ear") 
[and  Cox  might  have  added  that  they  also  tell  of  how 
Pawlett  struck  O'Doherty  a  blow  in  the  face,  in  addition . 
to  the  gross  outrage  of  having  spat  in  the  face  of  the  young 
Chieftain  of  Inis-Owen,  accusing  him  at  the  same  time  of 

62 


490  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

being  a  .coward,  a  traitor,  a  rebel,  and  a  liar  !]1  •"  O'Doherty 
plainly  told  Hart"  he  was  resolved  to  be  revenged  and  in 
order  to  it  he  must  have  Culmore  [Fort,]  Cox  proceeds, 
and  "  relates  the  incident  of  Hart's  wife  being  persuaded 
by  violent  threats  of  murder,  and  having  at  length  consented 
to  admit  O'Doherty 's  men  into  the  Fort"  [where  the  histo- 
rian, Cox,  tells  the  following  deliberate  untruth]  i.e.~\  "that 
the  fatal  consequences  of  this  folly  was  the  murder  of  all 
the  garrison,  not  excepting  her  own  brother  who  had  come 
hither  to  see  her",  and  "  the  rebels  proceeding  at  2  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  surprizing  the  fort  and  town  of  Derry  that 
they  took  them  with  little  or  no  resistance  and  they  murder- 
ed the  garrison  and  the  Governor  Sir  John  Pawlett,  and 
plundered  and  burnt  the  town,taking  Bishop  Montgomery's 
wife  and  children  prisoners".  Here  we  have  the  history 
of  the  taking  of  Culmore  and  Derry,  by  O'Doherty  in  1608, 
as  told  by  Cox.1 

CULMORE  AND   DERRY. 

In  1600,  Sir  Henry  Docwra  landed  at  Culmore,  so  as  to 
re-establish  the  colony  at  Derry,  and  his  first  object  was 
to  create  a  diversion  and  place  a  wedge  in  between  O'Neill 
and  O'Donnell,  which  after  a  while  he  succeeded  in  doing, 
thereby  establishing,  what  he  calls  in  his  Narration,  "  the 
Infant  City  of  Derry".  The  duplicity  of  Chichester,  and 
those  he  entrusted  to  carry  out  his  orders,  were  of  such  a 
kind,  that  no  wonder  would  be  expressed  if  the  inscription 
on  his  monument  in  Carrickfergus  Church,  caused  the 

1  This  statement  is  fully  borne  out  by  Paulett's  own  letters,  which  we 
gire  infra. 

*  Cox's  flint.  Ireland,  p.  13,  vol.  II.  (second  edition)  London,  1C92. 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  491 

"  marble  to  blush"  at  the  praise  given  to  his  marauding 
character !  whereby  he  gained  for  himself  and  his  pos- 
terity, among  other  lands,  those  belonging  to  The  O'Doherty 
of  Inis-Owen.1 

The  foundation  of  the  City  of  Deny,  as  it  is  now  known, 
dates  from  Docwra's  landing.  Previous  attempts  made, 
from  the  time  of  John  de  Courcy  in  1182,  and  on  through 
Elizabeth's  reign,  to  establish  an  English  colony  at  Deny, 
had  all  ended  in  failure,  though  a  Norman  castle  of  great 
strength  had  been  raised  in  1305,  at  Green  Castle,  to  guard 
the  entrance  to  Lough  Foyle.2 

However,  after  the  death  of  John  O'Doherty,  chief- 
tain of  Inis-Owen  in  1601,  his  son  Cahir,  then  a  boy  of 
16  years  of  age,  was  selected  as  chief  instead  of  his  uncle> 
to  fill  the  place  of  the  dead  chieftain.  It  is  now 
clear,  this  selection  was  made  by  the  crafty  advice  of 
Niall  Garve  O'Donnell,  and  with  the  consent  of  Phelimy 
Eeagh  Mac  David.  The  object  of  the  first  was  to  for- 
ward his  own  designs  against  the  Earl  of  Tirconnell ;  and 
that  of  the  second,  perhaps  arose  out  of  a  feeling  of 
clanship  in  support  of  the  claims  of  the  boy  to  his  father's 
inheritance.  James  1st,  who  had  succeeded  to  the  English 
throne  in  1603,  had  for  years  been  watching  the  progress 
of  events  in  Ireland,  by  means  of  active  agents,  James 
Fullerton  and  James  Hamilton ;  two  Scotchmen  in 
his  pay,  who  under  the  guise  of  school-masters,  taught 
a  school  in  Ship  Street  in  Dublin,  close  by  and  within 
reach  of  the  Castle,  and  no  doubt  in  direct  touch  with 

1  C.P.  Median's  Earls  of  Tyrone,  and  Tirconnell,  pp.  440-41.  Dublin 
1870. 

2  Inis-Owtn  and  Tiiconnell (1st  series.)  p.  1C.     Dublin:  1891. 


492  INIS-OWEN  AND  T1ROONNELL. 

some   of  its  inmates,   who  were  not  above   exchanging 
news  for  coin  or  future  rewards,  they  were  kept  fully 
informed  of  events  passing   in  Ireland,  and   seizing  the 
opportune  time  when  Inis-Owen  was  likely  to  be  bereft  of  its 
chieftain,  arrangements  were  made  to  make  another  attempt. 
"Whether  O'Dogherty,    chieftain  of  Innishowen,  had 
been  privy  to  the  designs  of  Tyrone,  may  be  doubted — it 
is  certain  that  he  had  formerly  received  a  blow  from  the 
hand  of  Paulet,  the  [second]  governor  of  Deny,  and  that 
he,  [under  the  irritating  taunts  of  Paulet  and  the  crafty 
promptings  of  Neale  Garve],  burned  to  wash  away  the  in- 
sult with  the  blood  of  his  enemy.     A  marriage  banquet  at 
Buncrana  furnished  the  opportunity.     Hart,   the  Gover- 
nor  of  Culrnore,   was    made    prisoner,   and    O'Doherty 
lead  his  captive  to  the  gate  of  the  fortress.     Hart's  wife 
chose  between  the  surrender  of  the  place  and  the   death 
of  her  husband.     Her  tears  and  entreaties  prevailed  on 
the  pity  or  cowardice  of  the  garrison.     Culmore  supplied 
O'Doherty  with   arms   and   amumtion,  when   Deny  and 
its  castle  submitted  to  his  power,  Paulet  and  five  others 
fell  the  victims  of  revenge".      Cox's  slaughter  of  the  entire 
garrison  of  Culmore  and  Deny  reduces  itself  down  to  five. 
"The  Council  strained  every  nerve  to  suppress  the  insur- 
rection, before   O'Doherty  received  aid.     The  two  first 
attempts  ended  in  the  discomfiture  of  the  royalists,  who 
lost  three   or  four  hundred   men,  but   on  the  approach 
of   Wingfield    [the   progenitor    of  Lord     Powerscourt,] 
marshall   of   the  camp,   O'Doherty   dismantled   the  two 
fortresses   and  retired.      For  two    months    he   kept  his 
enemies  at  bay;   but  one  morning  exposing  himself  in- 
cautiously, he  was  slain  by  a  random  shot".    [Lingard  says 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  493 

•with  reference  to  his  authority,  Boderie,  iii.  pp.  266,  289, 
322,  341,  "  there  are  several  accounts  of  the  flight  of  the 
e^jls.  I  have  preferred  that  sent  to  the  king  of  France  by 
his  ambassador".1  Note  3,  p.  89.]  vol.  vii-  chap.  ii. 

DAVIS,   PAWLETT,  AND  MONTGOMERY. 

John  Davis,  that  model  and  advocate  for  "even  handed  jus- 
tice", as  carried  into  practice  by  himself  during  the  time  he 
was  chief  legal  confiscator  for,  and  special  jury-empaneller  to 
the  Lord  Deputy,  and  Council  in  Ireland.  He  tells  us  of 
how  he  acted  on  jurors  who  would  not  enable  him  to  get 
fines,  amounting  to  some  hundreds  of  pounds,  laid  on  their 
fellow  townsmen,  who  according  to  this  second  Daniel 
were  recusants.  Davis  says,  "we  were  fain  to  threaten 
them  with  the  Star  Chamber  before  they  would  return 
any  presentment  to  us".s 

Davis  writes  to  Salisbury  (llth  December,  1607,)  and 
tells  of  how  he  went  down  to  Ulster  to  "  indict  the  Earls  and 
other  fugitives",3  so  as  to  enable  confiscations  to  be  made  easy. 

The  first  notice  we  have  of  Pawlett,  in  connection  with 
Deny  appears  in  a  letter  from  Oliver  St.  John,  addressed 
to  Earl  of  Salisbury,  dated,  Dublin,  llth  October,  1606, 
which  shows  that  the  traffic  for  appointments  to  have  custody 
of  troops  of  horse  and  foot  under  pay,  was  one  means  by 
which  these  adventurers  sought  to  repay  themselves  for  ser- 

1  Lingard's  Hist,  of  England,  vol.  vii.  sixth  edition,  chapter  ii.  p.  90. 
London, 1854. 

4  p.  xc.  Calendar  State  Paptrs,  1GOO,  1603,  edited  by  Russell  and 
Prendergast,  London,  1874. 

3  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  222,  189,  p,  353,  Caltndar  S.  P.,  160G-8,  London 
1874. 


494  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

vices  to  Elizabeth  and  James.  St.  John  says — "Now  Mr. 
Pawlett  is  arrived  here  with  his  Majesty's  letters  for  the  hav- 
ing of  Sir  Henry  Dockrrae's  foot  company";  but  the  Treasurer 
and  Master  of  the  Ordnance  thought  a  stay  ought  to  be 
made  of  "this  or  the  like  traffic",  as  it  was  one  of  their 
own  perquisites  to  have  "  the  privilege  of  having  foot  cam- 
ponies  upon  the  avoidance  by  death  or  otherwise  of  the 
then  captains".1 

But  Pawlett  was  not  going  to  be  outdone  by  the  Master 
of  the  Ordnance,  for  on  12th  October,  1606,  Pawlett  writes 
to  Earl  Salisbury,  saying  that  as  it  was  through  the  influence 
of  the  Earl  he  obtained  the  king's  letters  to  the  Lord 
Deputy  "  for  Sir  Henry  Docwra's  foot  company  at  Dyrrie, 
to  be  transferred  on  him  together  with  such  government 
as  the  said  Sir  Henry  had  at  Lough  Foyle.  Pawlett  begs 
Salisbury's  influence  to  secure  that  his  Majesty  will  be 
pleased,  to  decide  in  his  favour".2 

Then  we  find  Lord  Deputy  Chichester  on  the  trail, 
writing  to  the  Lords  of  the  Privy  Council  in  England, 
saying  he  had  "  received  his  Majesty's  letters  of  the  23rd 
July  last,  wherein  he  is  required  to  accept  Sir  Henry 
Docwra's  surrender  of  his  charge  at  Derrie.  This  he  is 
about  to  do,  and  to  pass  the  same  by  new  letters  patents 
to  Mr.  Pawlett,  rather  according  to  the  king's  meaning 
than  the  words  of  the  letter".  Chichester  complains  that 
giving  away  of  such  companies  "  should  be  at  the  disposal 
of  the  Deputy",  "  and  those  who  attended  here,  serving  in 
expectation  of  such  fortunes",  Dublin,  October  14th,  1606.3 

1  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  2A9,  121, 122,  llth  October,  1GOG. 
8  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  219,  124. 
3  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  219,  124. 


O'DOHEKTY'S  REVOLT.  495 

We  do  not  propose  here  to  follow  the  fortunes  of  Pawlett, 
beyond  saying  he  became  Governor  of  Derry  and  Lough 
Foyle;  but  another  actor  drops  on  to  the  Ulster  stage,  i.e., 
George  Montgomery,  created  by  his  countryman,  James, 
I.,  to  be  the  first  pro testant  bishop  of  three  dioceses,  Derry, 
Kaphoe  and  Clogher. 

This  devout  Father  in  the  Lord  soon  discovered  the 
nakedness  of  the  land,  and  at  once  put  himself  into  com- 
munication with  Salisbury,  as  we  find  from  a  letter  of  his 
dated,  1st  July,  1607,  in  which  he  says: — "Having  spent 
almost  a  whole  year  in  the  northern  and  most  barbarous 
parts  of  Ulster",  "  he  finds  great  difficulty  of  reducing  this 
people  to  civility',  and  if  Salisbury  will  only  "be  the 
worthy  instrument"  to  forward  his  views  "  in  the  ear  of 
His  Sacred  Majesty,  so  shall  the  whole  tribe  of  Levy  be 
ever  bound  to  continue  the  religious  memory  of  his 
honourable  love  and  zeal  unto  the  Lord's  house" ! ' 

Montgomery  admits  to  Salisbury  that  he  encouraged 
O'Cahan  "  to  try  and  free  the  churche's  patrimony  from 
the  Earl's  [Tyrone's]  hands",  with  the  result,  that  he 
Montgomery  made  it  appear  "  that  the  fee  of  that  whole 
country  appeared  to  be  in  the  king",  and  as  to  Tyrone's 
complaint  "  to  the  King  that  he  (the  bishop)  had  stirred 
up  O'Cane".  "  He  protests  that  it  is  untrue".  ? 

Then  this  religious  bishop  of  Derry !  shews  Salisbury 
how  to  dispose  of  "  this  country  of  O'Cahans",  embracing 
nearly  the  whole  of  the  County  of  Derry.  Here  are  the 
exact  words  written  by  this  bishop  Montgomery: — "The 
country  is  large,  pleasant,  and  fruitful,  being  24  miles  in 

'»  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  222,  96,  p,  214,  Calendar,  1606-8,  London  :  187f, 


496  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

length  between  Lough  Foyle  and  the  Banne,  and  in  breadth 
from  the  coast  towards  the  lower  parts  of  Tirone,  14 
miles" 

"It  was    thought  fit  in  policy  of  State  to  separate 
O'Doghertie  from  O'Donel,  and  this  country  now  finds 

the  good  of  it  and  will  every  day  more  and  more" 

"  They  are  sensible  hereof  that  dwell  in  this  poor  infant 
City  of  Derry,  who  are  cast  out  far  from  the  heart  and 
head  of  this  kingdom ;  and  they  think  it  concerns  them  as 
near  their  lives  to  have  this  country  sure  and  well  settled 
with  civil  subjects".  Montgomery  complains  "  that  Sir 
George  Pawlett  claims  the  very  land  belonging  to  the 
bishopric  within  the  island  [of  the  Derrie,]  the  cathedral 
and  parochial  churches  and  churchyard,  [and  profanity  of 

profanities !]  the  bishop's  house  not  excepted", and 

he  (the  bishop)  is  driven  to  a  long  and  tedious  [law]  suit 
to  recover ;  yea,  the  very  church  which  Sir  Henry  Docwra 
gave  to  the  city  for  their  parish  church,  and  which  was 
built  at  the  common  charge  of  the  cityj  and  country,  being 
now  challenged  and  withheld  by  the  Vice-Provost  [Pawlett] 
as  [having  been]  sold  unto  him  [by  Sir  Henry  Docwra]". 

Montgomery  advised  that  unless  care  be  taken  to  settle 
the  country,  he  described  *'  the  last  country  to  be  disposed 

of", wherein  if  this  city  be  neglected,  [then  the 

bishop  recollecting  his  schooldays  exclaims]  "  they  may  say 
Fuimus  Trots  ;  fuit  Ilium". 

He  was  specially  anxious  that  O'Cahan  should  remain, 
as  they  had  4<  twenty-two  lineal  descents  in  possession".1 


»  S.  P.  I.  July  1st,  vol.  222, 97,  !  07,  pp.  215,  216,217,  Colander,  S.  P, 

JGPC-8.     London,  1874, 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  497 

DAVIS. 

Hugh  O'Neill,  Earl  of  Tyrone,  at  the  conclusion  of  the 
enumeration  of  about  twenty  items  he  had  placed  before 
James  I.,  (in  which  he  particularizes  the  several  breaches 
of  faith  done  by  Lord  Deputies  and  other  English  adven- 
turers, of  which  Davis  was  chief  legal  director),  ends  by 
saying:  — "He  omits  many  things  done  to  him  by  under 
officers  [such]  as  Sir  John  Davis,  His  Majesty's  At- 
torney-General, "  A  man  more  Jit  to  be  a  stage  player  than 
a  counsel  to  His  Highness".1  Articles  charging  breach  of 
faith  of  a  similar  kind  were  submitted  to  the  King  by  the 
Earl  of  Tyrconnell,  extending  over  forty-four  Items.2 
The  complaints  of  the  Earls  have  been  noticed  by  Father 
Meehan.3 

Davis  kept  himself  in  evidence  with  Salisbury  and  tho 
Council  in  England,  informing  of  his  assiduity  "  for  the 
matter  of  religion,  their  constant  execution  of  the  penal  law 
of  twelve  pence  [per  head]  for  every  Sunday  and  holiday 
[for  being  alsent  from  Common  Prayer  and  English 
Church  Service]  prevails  so  much  [that  whole  towns]  now 
come  to  church.  The  reformation  wrought  in  this  kind 
throughout  this  kingdom  is  principally  effected  by  the 
civil  magistrate.  The  Archbishop  of  Cashell,  Myler 
M'Grath,  an  archbishop  of  their  reforming,  [holding  four 
dioceses]  who  without  doubt  is  the  most  criminous  person 

i  1607.  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  222,  201,  pp.  374-383.  Calendar,  S.P. 
160S-8.  Edited  by  Russell  &  Prendergask  London,  1874. 

*  S.  P.  L,  vol.  220,  200,  pp.  3G4-374. 

3  Fate  and  Fortunes  of  Tyrone  and  Tyrconnell,  pp.  186-218.  Second 
Edition,  Dublin,  1870. 

63 


INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

among  them"  [the  negligent -clergy].  "His  exemplary 
punishment  will  add  credit  to  religion".1  Yet  Miler 
MacGrath  was  one  of  Elizabeth's  Council  for  Mimster, 
and  the  abuses  for  which  Davis  records  "his  exemplary 
punishment",  consisted  of,  as  we  are  told  by  another 
of  Elizabeth's  archbishops,  Thomas,  Dublin,  that  livings 
for  forty  miles  were  handed  over  by  Magrath,  "so 
much  graced  by  her  late  Majesty,  and  so  highly  ad- 
vanced in  the  Church  as  to  have  the  charge  of  several 
bishoprics,  Cashel,  Lismore,  Emly  and  Waterford". 
Thomas  of  Dublin,  points  out  that  Myler  had  passed  away 
church  livings  "  to  the  use  of  his  children  and  allies",  as  "  he 
had  the  keeping  of  the  seal  belonging  to  the  Dean  and 
Chapter  in  his  own  custody".  Thomas  describes  that  he 
and  other  commissioners  found  "  such  abuses  and  enormi- 
ties as  he  never  could  have  believed  upon  the  rep'ort  of 
others";  Myler,  it  appears  "  quiie  perverted  his  pastoral 
charge  as  Queen's  Archbishop".  So  much  so  that  Arch- 
bishop, Thomas  says  : — "  Such  abuses  induce  the  people  in 
those  two  dioceses  of  Cashel  and  Emly  to  conceive  and 
think  that  amongst  them  (the  Protestants)  there  is  no 
religion".  Private  admonitions,  given  by  Thomas  to  his 
brother  of  Cashel,  at  many  times,  it  appears,  had  no  effect 
on  Myler.  "  Simony  existed  and  boys  unlawfully  prefer- 
red to  vicarages.2  In  regard  of  the  Archbishop's  parti- 
cipation in  Simony  and  leasing  over  of  the  livings  to  his 


1  Letter.  Davis  to  Salisbury.  Dublin,  Au;/.  7,  1G07.  S.P.Ireland, 
VoL  222,  117.  Calendar,  S.  P.  p.  250,  1606-8- 

*  S.  P.  Ireland,  Aug.  3-4,  1607.  Archbishop  of  Dublin  to  Salisbury 
and  Privy  Council,  vol.  221,  110-111.  Calendar  S.  P.,  pp.  235,  236. 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  499 

sons  and  allies,  to  the  havoc  of  the  Church".  Magrath 
appointed  four  sons  and  a  brother,  and  other  relatives 
to  benefices  within  his  jurisdiction. 

This  is  only  by  way  of  noticing  the  absorbing  interest 
taken  by  these  reforming  bishops,  some  of  whom  graced 
Inis-owen  and  Tyrconnell  with  their  presence  about 
1607-8,  and  on  through  the  immediate  years  that  fol- 
lowed the  scramble  for  land  and  livings,  consequent  on 
the  departure  of  the  Earls  of  Tirone  and  Tirconnell  in 
September,  1607,  and  the  defeat  of  O'Doherty  in  1608. 

It  would  appear  Hugh  O'Neill's  allusion  to  stage-play- 
ing in  the  person  of  Davis  was  not  a  haphazard  expres- 
sion, as  Davis  had  actually  written  a  poem  on  dancing,  as. 
we  learn  from  a  letter  of  William  Kavenscroft  to  Davis,  in 
which  he  says : — "He,  to  whom  [Davis]  dedicated  hi* 
poem  of  dancing  [was  it  to  Salisbury?]  had  a  shrewd, 
affront  a  few  days  past  in  an  accident  that  happened  be~ 
twixt  him  and  Sir  Robert  Barkley'V 

"  A  Commission  under  the  Great  Seal,  immediately  after 
the  fugitives'  [the  Earls]  departure,  issued  directed  to  [the 
adventurers]  the  Lord  Primate,  [James  1st  creation]  Mont- 
gomery, Bishop  of  Deny,  and  some  of  the  principal  gentry 
of  this  nation  dwelling  in  these  parts  ".  [What  an  honour? 
was  conferred  by  Davis  on  Irishmen  like  O'Doherty,  to 
have  their  names  placed  on  a  jury  for  legal  confiscations, 
but  necessity  had  no  choice !  'T  was  "  do  as  we  direct, 
or  go".  The  adventurers  would  have  preferred  that  the 
"  gentry  of  the  nation"  had  elected  to  go]. 

1  Lincoln's  Inn,  8th  March,  1606.  W.  Ravenscroft's  Letter  to  Davis. 
Carte  Papers,  Vol.  61,  p.  234.  Calendar,  S,  P.,  p.  127-8, 1606-8. 


500  1NIS-OWEN    AND    TIECONNELL. 

Davis  (who  has  been  represented  as  one  thirsting 
for  "even  handed  justice  for  the  Irish")  writes  to 
Salisbury,  giving  his  own  version  of  the  departure  of  the 
Earls  of  Tyrone  and  Tirconnell.1  In  this  letter  he  ex- 
presses his  unbounded  satisfaction  that  at  length  there 
is  a  prospect  "for  them  that  are  here;  they  are  glad 
to  see  the  day  wherein  the  countenance  and  majesty 
of  the  law  [Star-Chamber  law,  as  dealt  out  by  Davis,] 
and  civil  government  hath  banished  Tyrone  out  of 
Ireland,  which  the  best  army  in  Europe  and  the  ex- 
pense of  two  millions,  of  sterling  pounds  did  not  bring 
to  pass.  And  they  hope  His  Majesty's  happy  go. 
vernment  will  work  a  greater  miracle  in  this  kingdom 
than  ever  St.  Patrick  did ;  for  St.  Patrick  only  banished 
the  poisonous  worms,  but  suffered  the  men  full  of  poison 
to  inhabit  the  land  still;  but  His  Majesty's  blessed  genius 
will  banish  all  those  generations  of  vipers  out  of  it,  and 
make  it,  ere  it  be  long,  a  right  fortunate  island".1  In  a 
postscript  to  the  letter  from  which  we  give  the  above  ex- 
tract, Davis  adds,  "  Since  the  date  of  these  letters,  he  was 
commanded  by  the  Lord  Deputy  Chichester"  [who  from 
having  been  a  sergent-major  in  the  army,  became,  on  the 
8th  August,  1603,  Governor  of  Carrickfergus,  a  Commis- 
sioner., for  the  Civil  Government  of  Connaught,  along  witli 
Davis,  Fullarton,  Docwra,  etc.,  on  1st  September,  1604,  was 
appointed  one  of  the  Commissioners  for  making  Ulster  into 
shires,  and  with  power  to  accept  surrender  from  any  lords 
in  Ulster,  who  held  by  the  Irish  custom  of  Tanistry  also,  as 

»  1607,  Sept.  12,  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  222,  133. 

•  See,  copy  in  Printed   Calendar,  S.  P.,  p.  273-4,  1606-8,  London: 

1874 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  501 

deputy  in  the  absence  o/the  Lieutenant-General  of  Ireland, 
Charles,  Earl  of  Devonshire.]  James  I.  came  to  the  throne 
on24th  March,  1602.  It  then  became  a  question  of  scramble 
as  how  best  to  get  rid  of  the  Irish  in  Ulster,  and  Davis 
advised  they  all  should  obtain  legal  grants  from  the  King, 
after  which ;  "  His  Majesty's  blessed  genius  will  banish  all 
those  generations  af  vipers  out  of  it,  and  make  it,  ere  it  be 
long,  a  right  fortunate  island".1  Therefore  Davis's  pre- 
liminary excursions,  in  the  depth  of  winter,  opening  up 
assize  routes  and  holding  inquisitions,  were  only  so  much 
preparatory  work,  done  to  assist  *'  His  Majesty's  blessed 
genius"  towards  extirpating  "  those  generations  of  vipers", 
that  all  the  bloodshed  and  treasure  expended  by  Elizabeth, 
had  been  unable  to  "banish".  Consequently  we  find 
Davis,  Chichester,  Montgomery,  Wingfield,  Hamilton,  and 
Fullerton,  each  obtaining  rapid  promotion. 

The  year  1603  issued  in  a  busy  year  with  James  I., 
going  from  Hampton  Court,  to  Tottenham  Court,  to 
Basinge,  to  the  Manor  of  Woodstock,  Wilton,  and  West- 
minster, making  grants,  signing  patents,  making  bishops, 
and  issuing  licenses, — one  notable  one  on  5th  Nov.,  1603, 
To  license  James  Hamilton,  to  transport  1,200  packes  of 
yarne  out  of  Irelande.  From  what  honest  industries  does 
the  tide  of  fortune  of  some  noble  houses  flow  ?  From 
being  assistant  in  Fullerton's  school  in  Dublin :  exporter 
of  yarnes,  to  receiving  a  grant  of  Clandeboye  and  Ardes 
in  Ulster,  on  the  16th  April,  1605,  with  a  few  other 
pickings,  was  fairly  good  progress  for  James  Hamilton  ! 

»  Calendar,  S.  P.  1G06-8 ;  pp.  273,  274.  Edited  by  C.  W.  Russell 
and  John  P.  Prendergast.  London:  1874, 


502'  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Davis   also  got  his   own  patent   as   Solicitor-General  of, 
Ireland.1     [Davis,  S.  G,*]. 

Davis  took  occasional  journeys  to  Court,  and  a  grateful 
king  recognized  his  merits,  on  an  occasion  .granting  to 
"  Our  Attorney,  now  returning  to  his  service  there,  [in. 
Ireland]  wee  have  thought  good  to  accompany  hym  with, 
our  testimony  of  his  services  performed  here  to  our 
likinge,  as  well  in  that  which  concerneth  the  plantation  of. 
the  lands  in  Ulster  escheated  to  us,  as  in  reducynge  of  our 
customs  to  our  own  handes,  and  otherwise  in  matters  con- 
cerning our  exchequer  and  revenues  there ;  for  the  further 
orderinge  whereof,  he  carrieth  over  nowe  some  directions". 
A  grateful  king !  "  because  that,  in  regard  of  his  service,  wee 
have  graced  hym  with  the  dignitie  of  a  serjeaunt",  [and 
lest  any  doubt  might  arise  that  by  that  act  the  king  had 
caused  the  office  of  Attorney  to  lapse,  to  dispel  scruples, 
the  king  ordered  Chichester ..to.  make  out  new  letters  patent 
to  Davis  for  the]  "office  of  our  Attorney- General  for  that 
kingdom  in  as  ample  manner  as  he  held  it  before".  "And 
for  that  his  attendance  here  for  sOe  longe  tyme,  as  well  now 
in  this  journey,  as  about  three  years  sithence,  hath  ben  noe 
small  hinderance  to  his  profitt,  as  well  in  his  office  as  in  his 
practize".  "  We  are  pleased,  for  recompense  thereof,  to 
graunt  unto  our  said  attorney,  and  to  his  heirs  and  assignes 
of  our  mannors,  landes,  rectories,  tithes,  chaunteries,  and 
other  heriditamentes,"  ....  so  much  and  so  many,  as 
shall  amount,  unto  the  cleere  yearlie  value  of  £40,  ove.r. 

1  Erctts  Repertory,  Patent  Rolls  of  Chancery  in  Ireland^  vol.  1,  part 
1,  pp.  29, 245, 281,  102, 103,  191,  191, 197,  199,  201,  210,  213,  281  Dublin 
J846. 

»  Pated  Woodstock,  18th  September,  1C03. 


DAVIS,  PAULETT,  AND   MONTGOMERY.  503 

and  above  all  reprises".  ....  [The  king  directed  that 
this  grant  was  over  and  above  all  allowances  and  riding 
charges  for  his  office.  Here  was  a  great  king  rewarding 
an  honest  steward  !  The  king's  letter  is  dated  Westminster, 
29th  March,  7th  year,  1610,  and  is  addressed  to  "Our 
deputy  of  our  realme  of  Ireland,  Sir  Arthure  Chichester, 
Knt."1  It  was  on  Chichester's  mission  both  Davis  and 
Sir  Thomas  Ley  had  been  sent  to  the  Privy-Council  in 
England,  as  the  stakes  to  be  disposed  of  were  large,  the 
Croupiers  must  be  reliable  men.2 

BABQP  DOCWRA  OF  CULMOBE. 

Our  intention  for  the  present,  is  not  to  follow  through 
the  maze  the  twistings  of  this  gang  of  freebooters, 
who  preyed  upon  Ireland,  under  the  guise  of  civiliza_ 
tion,  and  who  used  in  turn,  as  best  suited  their  pur- 
pose, either  the  pen,  sword,  or  the  Word!  i.e.,  the  crafty 
confiscating"  Jury-empanelling  pen  of  Davis ;  the  sword  of 
Fitzwilliani  or  Chichester,  and  the  travesty  of  the  Gospel ! 
as  practised  by  Montgomery,  Knox,  and  MacGrath.  We 
simply  proceed  to  show  the  duplicity  and  treachery  exten- 
ded to  O'Doherty,  about  and  after  the  departure  of  the  Earls. 
Sir  Henry  Docwra,  whom  the  Four  Masters  style  "an  illus- 
trious knight  of  wisdom  and  prudence",  received  his  first 
appointment  in  Ireland  as  "  Constable  of  the  Castle 

1  Erck's  Repertory,  vol.  1,  part  ii ,  p.  569.    Dublin,  1852. 

*  Chichester 'a  letters  recommending  Sir  John  Davis  and  Sir  James  Ley, 
and  containing  his  written  instructions  and  opinions  about  the  Planta- 
tion of  Ulster,  were  dated  October  H,  1608.  C.  S.  P.,  1608-10,  p- 

54-70.     London:  1874. 


504  INIS-OWEN     AND    TIRCONNELL. 

of  Dungarvan,  in  Co.  Waterford,  to  hold  for  life,  with  a 
fee  of  4s.  per  day  for  himself;  6d.  per  day  for  each  of 
six  archers,  and  8d.  per  day  for  each  of  fifteen  foot- 
soldiers,  to  serve  for  defense  of  the  castle  ;  he  is  required 
to  keep  and  repair  the  castle  out  of  the  fines  to  be  as- 
sessed within  the  liberties  of  Dungarvan".  This  appoint- 
ment was  made  Sept.  20,  1594.  (36th  Elizabeth,)1 

The  Queen's  letter,  directing  the  nomination  of 
Henry  Dockwray,  is  addressed  to  Sir  William  Fitz William, 
Deputy,  and  dated  from  Theobald,  June  15,  Anno  36.] 

DOCWRA'S  NARRATION. 

Posterity  are  indirectly  indebted  to  the  taunts  of 
Chichester  for  the  "  Narration  of  services  done  by  the 
[English]  Army  employed  at  Lough  Foyle  under  the  leader- 
ship of  Sir  Henry  Docwra1.2 

Docwra  tells  us  that,  "The  occasion  that  moved  me  to 
make  this  narration  was  given  by  my  Lord  Chichester, 
who  being  in  England"  [in  1613]  "  when  I  came  to  take 
my  leave  of  him,  spoke  with  me  touching  my  retired  life, 
which  he  imputed  to  proceed  from  my  disposition". 

Docwra  says,  shortly  before,  having  heard  that  he  was 
"  taxed  for  selling  away  of  my  place",  and  finding  if  it  were 
not  controverted,  the  world  would  misconstrue  his  action, 
and  believe  "  I  voluntarily  gave  over  my  place  [as  Gover- 
nor of  Deny  and  Constable  of  Culmore,]  and  that  I  made  a 

1  Calendar,  Rolls  of  Chancery  in  Ireland,  vol.  11,  p.  290.  Edited  by 
James  Morrin.  Dublin,  1862. 

1  Docwra's  Narration  in  Miscellany  of  tht  Celtic  Society,  p.  235-6, 
edited  by  John  O'Donovan,  Dublin ;  1849. 


BARON  DOCWRA  OF    CULMOEE.  505 

benefit  thereof,  by  selling  it  away  to  another" "If 

either  of  these  were  true".  Whatever  ensued  afterwards, 
he  acknowledges  he  would  have  no  grounds  for  complaint; 
consequently  after  leaving  Chichester,  Docwra  began  to 
debate  with  himself,  and  says  :  "Shall  I  ever  by  silence 
betray  to  my  own  innocence  was  it  a  virtue  in  a  dumb 
man,  to  break  the  very  tongue  strings  to  speak,  when 
he  saw  his  father  in  danger,  to  be  otherwise  unjustly 
condemned",  Docwra  not  desiring,  as  he  says ;  "  to  suffer 
my  Reputation  to  be  trampled  upon",  proceeded  to  write 
his  Narration. 

The  space  at  our  disposal  in  this  notice  of  Writers  of  and 
relating  to  Inis-Owcn  and  Tirconnell,  will  cause  our  re- 
ference to  the  Narration  to  be  brief,  and  only  to  such  por- 
tions as  deal  directly  with  some  of  the  actors  already 
mentioned,  who  appear  on  the  stage  in  connection  with 
Ints-Owen  and  Tirconnell,  before,  at,  or  about  the  time 
of  O'Doherty's  revolt.  Docwra  details  his  first  landing 
with  4,000  foot  and  200  horse,  on  the  16th  May,  A.D.  1600, 
at  Culmore,  "when  100  men  gave  us  a  volley  of  shot  and 
retired".  This  was  the  only  protest  Shane  O'Doherty  was  in 
a  condition  to  make  against  such  an  overwhelming  force,  but 
it  was  clearly  and  unmistakeably  an  act  of  war !  In  the  in- 
structions given  toDocwra,  appears  his  patent  of  authority. 
"  Under  the  great  Seale,  you  have  authority  to  prosecute  with 
fire  and  sword  all  Rebels  and  Traitors"  ....  "which  will 
require  great  foresight  and  Council".  "  And  we  wish  you 
.  ..."  to  draw  in  so  many  of  the  better  sort  of  Irish  as  you 
can,  and  like-wise  of  the  meaner  sort,  whereby  the  Arch- 
traitor  [O'Neill]  may  be  weakened  and  you  strengthened. 
In  which  course  you  are  to  use  faithful  instruments,  and  if 

64 


506  INIS-OWEN    AND  TIRCONNELL. 

need  bo  to  send  them  among  the  Irish  to  labour  and  work 
them  if  of  themselves  they  shall  not  make  offer".  Docwra's 
pay  for  this  was  to  be  12s.  and  4  pence  per  day.1  [Here  was 
a  broad  commission  to  spy,  corrupt,  hang,  bribe  and  burn 
or  smoke  any  opponent  out  of  their  dwellings,  and  all 
under  the  garb  of  civilization !] 

DOCWRA  AND   SEAAN   OGE   O'DOHERTY. 

Cut  iii6]\,  Culmore,  the  Angulus  magnm  of  O'Sullevan 
Beare,  was  the  place  where  Docwra  landed,  who,  so  soon 
as  he  did  land,  like  a  prudent  soldier  in  an  enemy's  country, 
began  to  protect  himself.  Docwra  says :  "  The  place 
seeming  in  my  opinion  fitt  to  build,  we  began  about  the 
Butt  end  of  the  old  broken  Castle  to  cast  up  a  forte 
such  as  might  be  capable  to  lodge  200  men  in.  [It  will 
be  noticed,  Docwra  found  the  remains  of  a  Castle  at 
Culmore,  when  he  first  landed.]  Six  days  we  spent  in 
labour  about  it,2  making  raids  in  the  meantime  into 
O'Doherty's  country,  "  we  came  to  Ellogh,  a  castle  of 
O'Doherty's,  which  he  had  newly  abandoned  and  [had] 
begun  to  pull  clown".  "  But  seeing  it  yctt  tenable 
and  of  good  use  to  hold,  I  put  Captain  Ellis  and  his 
company  of  150  men  into  it".  The  remnant  of  the  castle 
of  -AileAcli  can  be  seen  by  any  person  travelling  by  road 
or  rail,  from  Derry  to  Buncrana,  on  the  top  of  a  natural 
eminence,  248  feet  above  the  sea,  in  the  townland  of 
Elaghmore,  where  it  is  marked  as  Doherty-Towcr,  on 
sheet  13  of  the  Ordnance  Survey  of  the  County  Dcny» 

1  Miscellami  Celtic  Soc.,  p.  291-93. 
*  Hit/,  p.  237. 


DOCWRA  AND  SEAAN  OGE  O'DOHERTY.  507 

and  is  distant  about  three  miles  from  Derry.  This  fort- 
alice,  one  of  about  six  formerly  belonging  to  the  O'Dohertys, 
must  not  be  confounded  with  ^t^^An  -Ait-eAch,  previously 
described  by  ODonovan,  and  mentioned  by  the  Author.1 

Leaving  600  men  at'  Culmore  to  complete  the  fort, 
Docwra  proceeded  with  his  formidable  army  of  3,000 
troops  fresh  from  England,  and  1,000  veterans,  inured  to 
Irish  warfare,  to  lay  the  foundation  of  the  future  City  of 
Derry,  and  he  describes  the  position  of  the  two  Forts  he 
caused  to  be  erected,  "  to  make  sure  the  footing  we  had 
gained".  Caution  was  the  instrument  this  prudent  captain 
employed  at  first,  as  he  says,  in  "  the  country  as  yet  un- 
known to  us". 

It  was  necessary  for  Docwra  to  use  caution,  as  he 
describes,  he  had  to  employ  "  two  ships  of  war",  with 
soldiers  in  them,  to  coast  all  along  the  shore  for  twenty 
miles,  and  wherever  they  found  any  houses,  to  bring  away 
the  timber  and  other  materials,  to  build  with".  When 
they  swept  Inis-Owen  of  every  stick  within  reach,  they 
turned  to  "  the  other  side  of  the  Foyle,  wherein  there  was 
plenty  of  old  grown  birch,  I  daily  sent  workmen,  with  a 
guard  of  soldiers,  to  cut  it  down,  and  there  was  not  a  stick 
of  it  brought  home  that  was  not  first  well  fought  for".2 
This  is  how  the  foundation  of  the  City  of  Derry  was  laid 
in  1600,  as  told  by  a  man  who  was  no  ordinary  soldier, 
protecting  himself  in  the  enemies'  country. 

O'Donnell  and  O'Doherty  had  pressed  Docwra  so  close, 


1  See  pp.  2  to  10,  Inis-Ojitn  and  2'irconnell,  (first  series).     Dublin, 
1891. 

2  Narration,  Mis.  C.  S.,  p.  239,  Ibid. 


508  INIS-OWEN    AND    TIRCONNELL. 

that  even,  with  all  his  force,  his  outposts  were  driven  in 
continually,  till,  on  the  1st  June,  Arthur  O'Neill,  son  of 
Turlogh  Lynoch,  came  in  to  him,  when,  "  By  his  advice 
I  sent  Sir  John  Chanaberlainc  \vith  700  men  into  O'Cane's 
country,  by  marching  all  night  to  Greencastle,  from  which 
he  passed  over  from  O'Doherty's  side.  On  the  10th  June 
they  fell  in  the  midst  of  their  creaghts  [herds]  unexpected, 
ccazcd  a  great  prey,  and  brought  it  to  the  Waterside,  but 
for  want  of  means  to  bring  it  all  away,  they  hacked  and 
mangled  as  many  as  they  could  ".  This  is  the  first  instance 
we  have  on  record,  where  the  hocking  of  a  great  prey  of  live 
cattle  was  practised  by  these  pioneers  of  civilization  in 
Ireland.  "  With  some  100  cows  they  put  aboard  their 
boats,  besides  what  the  soldiers  brought  away  kilt,  they 
returned".1 

Docwra  soon   had   other   employment  for   his   troops, 
besides  the  "hacking    and  mano-linof    of    cattle",    as    he 

o  o         o 

records  that  "  On  the  28th  June,  some  of  O'Doherty's 
men  came  and  lay  in  ambush  before   Ellogh".     Cox  and 
his  copyists  would  doubtless  consider  this  another  act  of 
vile  treachery,  to  "lie  in  ambush",  before  one's  own  castle, 
then  occupied  by  an  enemy  ?     Docwra  tells    that    "  the 
garrison  (of  150  men  under  Capt.  Ellis)  discovering  them, 
fell  out  and  skirmished  a  little  from  the  Castle.     We  per- 
ceived them  from  the  Deny  to  be  in  fight.     I  took  40 
horse  and  500  foot,  and  made  towards  them.     When  they 
saw  us   coming  they  left  the   skirmish".      What  ignoble 
fellows  these  O'Dohertys  must  have  been,  not  to  have 
allowed  themselves  to  be  taken  between  two  fires,  one  in 

1  Narration,  Mis.  C.  S.t  p.  210, 


DOCWRA  AND   SEAAN  OGE  O'DOHEUTY.  509 

front  of  their  own  strength,  with  which  they  were 
fighting,  and  a  small  army  under  the  command  of  the 
English  chief  endeavouring  to  out-flank  them. 

O  O 

But  Shane  O'Doherty,  who,  at  the  battle  of  the  Curlieus, 
the  year  previously,  had  led  the  attack  on  Clifford,  where 
"  O'Docharta  cum  peditum  millibus  duobus,  invicta  acie 
tentoria  pandit",1  "was  not  so  ignorant  of  military  tactics  as 
to  wait  to  be  surrounded ;  "  he  drew  away ;  we  followed 
up  as  fast  as  we  could,  and  coming  to  the  foot  of  a  moun- 
tain, which  they  were  to  pass  over  in  their  retreat,  we 
might  see  them  all  pass  before  us,  though  but  slowly," 
[what  impertinence  for  these  Inis-Owen  men  not  to  fly, 
even  from  a  whole  regiment  ?  ]  "  being  to  our  grief, 
about  400  foot  and  60  horse",  [now  according  to  Docrwa's 
own  figures,  here  was  a  chance  of  even  numbers]  "  and 
we  making  as  much  haste  on  our  parts  to  overtake  them". 
"By  that  time  the  last  of  them  had  obtained  the  top  of 
the  hill:  Sir  John  Chamberlaine  and  I,  with  some  10 
horse  more,  were  come  up  close  in  their  heels,  all  our  foot 
and  the  rest  of  our  horse  coming  after  us  as  fast  as  they 
could,  but  all  out  of  breath,  and  exceedingly  tired". 
[The  distance  they  had  marched  was  only  from  Derry  to 
the  hill  above  Carnshanagh,  and  "  the  top  of  the  hill ",  so 
minutely  described  by  Docwra,  is  the  slack  of  the  western 
spur  of  the  Scalp  Mountain,  where  the  Meloure  Stone  still 
retains  its  name,  and  thus  defines  the  exact  locality]. 
"  Having  thus  gained  the  top  of  the  hill,  and  seeing  but 
few  about  me,  I  stayed  and  bade  a  stand  to  be  made  till 


1  Hist.    Cathot.    Iberaice,      0' Sullivan's    Dcarra,   by   Kelly,  p.   200, 
Dublin;  1850. 


510  INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 

more  company  might  come  up,  and  withall  casting  my 
head  about  to  see  how  our  men  followed",  [prudent 
general  was  Docwra !  not  to  despise  an  Inis-Owen  foe, 
under  the  leadership  of  SheAn  TTlAC  Sh<s<\n  O'DOCAJICAIJ.] 
"I  seeing  the  foot  far  behind,  and  our  horse  but  slowly 
climbing  up,  turning  about  again  I  might  see  Sir  John 
Chamberlaine  unhorsed,  lying  on  the  ground,  a  stone's 
cast  before  me,  and  at  least  a  dozen  hewing  at  him  with 
their  swords,  I  presently  went  forward  to  have  rescued 
him,  and  my  horse  was  shot  in  two  places,  and  fell  dead 
under  me,  yet  they  forsook  him  upon  it,  and  we  recovered 
his  body,  but  wounded  with  sixteen  wounds,  and  instantly 
giving  up  the  ghost,  whereupon  we  made  a  stand  in  the 
place",  [now  Docwra  and  Chamberlaine  had  with  them 
"  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  some  ten  horse  more",  all  within  a 
stone's  cast]  "  and  staying  till  more  company  came  up,  we 
brought  him  off,  [this  is  since  disputed,  see  infra]  and 
suffered  them  to  march  away  without  further  pursuit". 
The  account  of  this  battle  given  by  the  Four  Masters  is 
that  "  Sir  John  Chamberlaine,  a  colonel  of  the  English 
of  Deny,  marched  with  a  numerous  force  against  O'Doherty, 
to  plunder  and  prey  him.  O'Doherty,  with  a  small  party, 
met  the  English,  and  a  fierce  battle  was  fought  between 
them,  in  which  the  English  ivere  defeated,  and  the  Colonel 
and  others  ivere  stain  by  O'Doherly.1 

From  Docwra's  own  account,  it  appears  he  was  in  com- 
munication with  his  force  at  Ellough,  and  resting  on  his 
main  force  at  Deny,  and  that  the  "  500  foot  and  40  (?) 
horse  he  had  brought  out  to  assist  the  150  troops  at 

1  Few  Masters,  vol.  iii.  O'Donovan's  edition,  p.  2225,  Dublin  ;  1848. 


DOCWRA  AND   SEAAN   OGE  O'DOHERTT.  511 

Ellough,  could  be  as  clearly  seen  by  O'Doherty,  as 
Docwra  acknowledges  he  had  in  full  view  the  400  foot 
O'Doherty  had  with  him  as  they  "  retired  slowly".  Any 
person  acquainted  with  the  locality  (as  the  Author  has 
been  since  a  boy),  can  readily  picture  the  whole  scene 
of  the  conflict,  that  has  been  fairly  told  by  Docwra,  when 
we  consider  his  defeat  and  loss.  The  place  chosen  by 
SeAAn  O'T)ocA]\cAi5  from  whi  ch  to  reconoitre  the  new 
garrison  of  Ellough  was  as  familiar  to  Shane  as  a  bowling 
green  was  to  many  of  Docwra's  soldiers. 

In  1599,  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell  left  200  cavalry  to  hold 
on  the  blockade  of  [O'Coiior  Sligo  in]  Killmainey,  "after 
which  he  marched  with  O'Doherty,  prince  of  Inis-Owen, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  army  to  Corslieve  mountain", 
where,  as  we  know,  the  celebrated  battle  of  the  Curliews 
was  fought  against  Clifford,  Governor  of  Connaught. 
Clifford  and  Alexander  Ratcliffe,  a  young  English  noble- 
man, along  with  1,400  of  the  English  army,  were  slain".1 
It  was  here  that  after  the  O'Donnell's  skirmishers  had 
advanced,  led  by  Owen  Mac  Sweeny,  of  Doe,  and  Tully 
O'Gallagher,  and  when  O'Donnell,  "  In  itinere  patientiore 
ipse  et  O'Docharta,  cum  pedituni  millibus  duobus,  invicta 
acic,  tentoria  pandit."2 

O'Doherty  had  been  imprisoned  for  two  years  in  Dublin 
Castle,  from  1588  till  1590,  till  he  purchased  his 
discharge  from  one  of  the  most  venal  English  Lord- 
Deputies,  Sir  Win.  Fitz  Williams.3  After  O'Doherty's  dis- 

1  Hist.  Ireland,  by  Abbe  MacGeoghc^rm,  (translated  from  the  French 
by  T.  O'Kelly),  pp.  513-514,  Dublin:  1844.' 

'-  O'Sullivana  Hint.  Hi'>ernia,  by  Kelly,  p.  209-10,  Dublin:  1850. 
3  Cox's  Ilib.  Anglir.ana,  and  Kilkenny  Arch.  Soc.  Trans,  vol,  v.  (new 
series)  p.  157.     Dublin:  1SC7. 


512 


INIS-OWEN  AND   TIRCONNELL. 


aster  at  Tristernagh  Abbey,  Kilbixey,  in  Westmeath,  lie 
returned  to  Tirconnell,  where  we  find  him  on  the  landing 
of  Docwra,  at  Culmore,  dismantling  his  castle  of  Elagh, 
and  retiring  with  his  people  into  Tirconnell,  to  be  under 
the  protection  of  Red  Hugh,  as  he  alone  by  himself  after 
the  disaster  he  met  with  by  that  unknown  captain  of 
Elizabeth's,  could  not  offer  strong  resistance  to  such  an 
army  as  that  of  Docwra's. 


E, 


The  Scalp.  Cruaeh-an-eun.  Cashel  Hill. 

(As  they  appear  from  near  SU.  tTIURA'S) 


W. 


Croach-an-eun,  %.  e.  the  Hill  of  the  Birds,  is  the 
Irish  name  of  the  Western  Spur  of  the  Scalp  mountain 
that  lies  partly  in  the  townlands  of  Crislaghmore  and 
Kilmacilvenny,  in  Inis-owen.  A  well  known  local  land- 


CRUACHANEUN. 


513 


mark,  the  Muillore-stone,  distant  about  one  mile  north 
from  Burnfoot  station  on  the  Swilly  Railway,  is  situated 
at  the  immediate  base  of  Cruach-an-eun. 

This  Crnach  was  the  place  of  resort  of  birds,  the 
" Litus  Volucruni\  the  Cormorants,  when  they  were  de- 
prived of  their  fishing  occupations  by  the  ebb  and  flow 
of  the  shallow  waters  that  formerly  occupied  the  place  of 
Inch  slob-lands.  Hence  thelrish  name  of  Cruach-an-eun. 

Near  this  spur  of  the  Scalp,  took  place  in,  A.D.  1600  a 
"sanguinary  battle"  between  the  swordsmen  oflnis-owen 
(led  by  Shane-oge  O'D  oherty,  of  Elagh-beg,  father  of 
Cahir  O'Doherty,  who  was  a  brave  soldier,  as  well  as  a 
skilful  general),  and  the  forces  of  the  English  army  led  by 
Sir  John  Chamberlaine  and  Docwra,  one  of  their  ablest 
generals  then  engaged  in  attempting  to  lay  the  foundation 
of  the  present  City  of  Derry. 


Cashel  Hill.     Cruach-an-eun.     The  Scalp.     Iskaheen  Gap. 
(SKETCH  OF  "STEEP   HILL".     As  it  might  have  appeared    to 
Docwra  when  he  followed  Seaan-Oge  from  Elagh  Castle,  28th  June,  1600.; ' 


Docwra's  Narration,  J/t's.  C.  S.,  p.  241. 


65 


514  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 


THE  BATTLE  OF  THE  CURLIEUS. 

Before  we  dispose  of  John-Oge  O'Doherty,  and  his 
military  exploits  we  shall  here  give  a  record  (hitherto  un- 
published), confirmatory  of  Seaan's  ability  as  a  general 
to  cope  with  Docwra  on  equal  terms.  The  eight  lines  we 
insert  are  taken  from  the  Irish  poem  in  our  possession 
and  begins  at  line  one  hundred  and  forty  :  — 


i5  13615  i|t  -01  An 

CACA  CJ1OACCAC    fAH  CC01jA]'1l  Ab 

An  beA^Ac  buit>e  (*) 
t>ob  -JTAC  eolctnjie. 


um  \\e  CAC 

SA  ITlAHf^Al  05  eUACCAC 

PA  c\\\c  cceAcc  ^lom  nAfi  Aon 
DA  etiAcuAib  A^AOH  iAt)  SeAin". 

The  above  verses  of  this  Irish  poem  upon  the 
"  military  exploits"  of  John  Oge  O'Doherty  may  for  the 
present  be  translated  as  follows  :  — 

"  O'Doherty,  stern  and  true,  gave  death-dealing  battle 

1  The  Curlews,  Co.  Sligo.  Ordnance  Survey  MSS.,  R.  I.  A.  O  'Donovan 
in  a  letter  of  September  9th,  1836,  giving  instruction  to  Mr.  Thomas 
O'Conor  who  was  on  the  Co.  Sligo  Survey,  says  :  "  when  you  come  to 
the  Curlieus  ascertain  the  nature  of  the  celebrated  pass  called  beAUxi 
bui-6e. 

z  Bealach  Buidhe,  the  yellow  road,  where  Clifford,  the  Governor  of 
Connaught  fell,  Hist.  Sligo,  p.  357,  by  Wood  Martin,  Dublin,  1882. 


ELAGH    AND   CRUACH-AN-EUN  515 

under  Corsliav,  at  the  rout  of  the  yellow  pass— this  was 
cause  of  wailing  and  woe". 

"  At  this  battle  the  Governor  [Clifford]  was  brought  to 
his  knees,  together  with  his  young  Marshall  [Ratcliffe]> 
Death  having  been  brought  upon  them  by  Seaan" !  i.e.,  I 
was  under  John  Oge  O'Doherty's  leadership,  that  Clifford 
the  Governor  of  Connaught,  and  his  young  Marshall  Sir 
Alexander  Ratcliffe,  met  their  end  at  Bealach  Buidhe, 
on  the  slopes  of  the  Curlieu  Mountains,  Co.  Sligo. 

ELAGH   AND   CRUACH-AN-EUN. 

O'Donovan  in  one  of  his  many  unpublished  letters,  asks 
a  very  pertinent  question.  "  Why  should  the  history  of 
any  people  be  concealed,  and  why  should  truth  be  cast 
into  the  shade",  ?'  With  this  object  we  have  examined  the 
details  connected  Vith  General  Docwra's  narration,  which 
gives  his  own  version  of  what  took  place  in  the  encounter, 
between  Shean-Oge  O'Doherty  and  himself  on  the  occasion 
of  Docwra  bringing  relief  to  his  beleaguered  garrisons. 
This  being  his  own  first  raid  in  great  force  into  O'Doherty's 
country  of  Inis-Owen,  on  28th  June,  1600.  Docwra, 
though  putting  the  best  face  he  could  in  his  narrative, 
on  the  event,  admits  DEFEAT  in  every  line  of  his  own 
description. 

Docwra  having  been  informed  by  his  outposts  stationed 
on  the  high  ground  (above  '  the  Cathedral  at  Rosemount), 
Derry,  that  the  outlying  troops  stationed  at  Elagh  Castle 

O'Donovan's  Letters  to  James  Hardiman,  in  K.I.A.    Letter  No,  5,  pt 
17,  dated  January  31st,  1832. 


516  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

which  "numbered  150  men  under  Captain  Ellis  Ffloudd 
were  in  feight",  they  being  also  in  touch  with  the  "  600  men 
left  at  Culmore  under  Captain  Atford'',  these  750  men 
<;  making  up  into  the  country  to  discover",  had,  doubtless, 
became  so  annoying  to  John  Oge  O'Doherty,  who,  we  are 
aware,  had  been  in  observation  with  a  troop  of  horse  and 
foot  on  the  top  of  the  hill  above  Culmore,  on  the  16th 
May,  to  whom  Docwra,  had  made  up  to,  with  the  first  of 
the  horse  and  foot  he  had  unshipped,  but  which,  as  he 
says; — "  Owing  to  ignorance  of  the  ways  our  horses  were 
presently  boggt  and  so  at  that  day  made  no  further  use" 
but  to  land  his  men".  Therefore,  Docwra  was  aware 
that  John  Oge,  whose  record  as  a  warrior  was  not 
unknown  to  him,  was  on  the  defensive.  Therefore  it  is 
clear  the  "feight" — with  ''some  men  of  O'Doherty's 
on  the  28th  June",  had  originated  by  anattack  madeby  John 
Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty  on  the  more  daring  spirits 
_  among  those  making  raids  through  Inis-Owen,  from  the 
Castles  of  Elagh  and  Culmore,  this  is  confirmed  by  Docwra, 
who  says  : — "  I  know  there  were  some  that  presentlie  be- 
ganne  to  censure  mee,  for  not  slurring  abroade,  and  making 
journeys  [raids]  up  into  the  Countrye".  But  here  again 
Docwra  exercised  the  caution  of  a  prudent  soldier,  where 

he   says : — "  Prayes  would  not   be   sett  without 

many  hazards  and  a  great  consumption  of  our  men,  the 
country  was  as  yet  unknown  to  UP,  and  those  we  had  to 
deale  with  were,  as  I  was  sure,  would  chuse  or  refuse  to 
feight  with  us  as  they  saw  their  own  advantage".1  Why 


1  Miscdluny,  Celtic  Soc.,  p.  238,  Dublin-.  1849. 


ATTACK  BY  SEA  AN  OGE  O'DOHERTY.  517 

not!     This  is  an  acknowledgment  of  O'Dohertj's  ability 
as  a  general. 

JOHN  SEAAN  OGE'S  ATTACK  NEAR  ELAGH. 


John  SeAAti  Oge  had  witnessed  the  coasting,  raiding, 
and  bringing  away  of  every  piece  of  timber  within  reach 
in  Inis-Owen,  "  though  every  stick  brought  to  Deny,  had 
first  to  be  well  fought  for",  as  Docwra  has  declared,  and 
Seaan  Oge  (being  aware  that  Colonel  Chamberlaine,  had 
passed  over  on  the  10th  June  with  a  large  force  to  attack 
O'Neill,)  collectedhis  own  scattered  swordsmen,  from  Malin, 
Donagh,  Culdaff,  Glentogher,  Clonmany,  Buncrana  and 
lilies,  and  attacked  the  raiding  portions  of  the  garrisons  of 
Culmore  and  of  Elagh.  The  news  of  Seaan's  attack  and  the 
"  fighting",  as  we  have  seen,  was  conveyed  to  Docwra  and 
themainarmy  at  Deny.  Docwra  immediately  on  the  morn- 
ing of  the  2Sth  June,  sent  forth  to  the  aid  of  his  besieged 
garrisons,  troops  to  the  acknowledged  number  of  "  oOOfoote 
and  40  horse  and  made  towards  them".  This  "feight"had 
been  in  progress  for  some  time  at  least,  before  Docwra  got 
his  troops  under  way,  the  feight  did  not  take  place  within 
the  Castle  of  Elagh  :  — 

Having  collected  his  forces,  Seaan  O'Doherty,  advanced 
on  the  "  stirring  abroad"  raiders  by  way  of  Graines  Gap- 
over  Iskaheen",  he  arrived  before  the  high  ground 
east  of  the  Castle  of  Elagh,  on  the  early  morning  of  the  28th 
June,  having  first  protected  himself  from  the  outposts 
of  Culmore,  who  were  in  evidence  at  the  eastern  slope 
of  Ballynagard,  the  hill  above  Culmore  from  which 
Seaan  Oge  had  watched  the  disembarking  of  Docwra's 
troops  on  the  16th  May. 


518  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIECONNELL. 

This  ground  keeps  an  elevation  of  from  150  to  perhaps 
200  feet  above  the  sea  level  on  through  Ballyarnet,  on  the 
east,  to  Beragh-Hill  in  Bally-na-galliagh,  where  it  rises  to 
about  260  feet.  Seaan  Oge  having  secured  this  high 
ground  immediately  North-east  of  the  Castle  of  Elagh,  with 
his  left  resting  on  Berag  Hill,  the  "  Fight"  that  ensued 
which  called  out  Docwra's  superior  force  from  Derry, 
clearly  took  place  within  a  radius  of  1,000  yards  east 
by  south,  from  the  Castle  of  Elagh,  between  upper 
Galliagh,  Glengalliagh,  the  castle,  and  the  ridge  level  that 
stands  from  300  to  350  feet  high,  north-east  of  the  Castle,  on 
ground  the  average  level  of  which  may  have  been  about 
200  feet  or  so,  above  the  sea.  An  examination  of  the  con 
figuration  of  the  surrounding  country,  will  shew  that  in  the 
absence  of  a  much  superior  force,  Seaan  Oge  had  made  a 
good  selection  of  his  ground,  and  so  far  from  his  having  been 
"  lying  in  ambush",  he  had  merely  taken  the  precaution  to 
preserve  his  forces  from  surprize  by  occupying  ground  that 
gave  him  advantage  "  to  fight  or  refuse  as  he  chuse".  Seean 
elected  to  "  fight",  and  his  attack,  had  early  driven  the  Cul- 
more  and  Elagh  forces,  to  seek  relief  from  the  main  army  at 
Derry.  As  Seaan  did  not  desire  with  his  much  inferior 
numbers,  to  continue  the  attack  and  "  Fight",  around  Elagh 
any  longer  than  suited  his  purpose,  when  he  found  the  first 
ranks  of  the  army  from  Derry  advancing  in  force.  With 
his  right  resting  on  the  high  ground  at  about  300  yards  north 
of  the  Castle,  he  swung  round  his  left  in  line  of  his  retreat 
towards  Drumnacross  hill,  above  the  Lane  Head,  in 
direction  of  the  way  leading  to  Maggiestown.  Seaan 
meanwhile  keeping  up  the  attack  at  Elagh  to  cover  his 
retreat  till  the  approach  of  the  advanced  wing  of  Docwra's 


SEAAN    OGE'S  BRILLIANT  RETREAT.  519 

main  force  in  command  of  Sir  John  Chamberlaine,  caused 
him  to  abandon  "  the  skirmish  and  draw  away",1  All  this 
"  Fight"  and  "  Skirmish"  was  not  a  mere  bravado,  it  was 
real,  and  as  Docwra  says  ';  caused  a  great  consumption  of 
our  men". 

Seaan  having  completed  his  retreat  in  good  order,  the 
Elagh  garrisons  not  venturing  to  continue  "the  Skirmish". 
Chamberlaine  having  arrived  at  Elagh,  with  his  horse  had 
already  began  the  pursuit,  Docwra  says. —  "  We  followed 
up  as  fast  as  we  could".  Seaan  by  this  time  had  gained  the 
level  of  about  600  feet  east  of  Gortnaskeagh,  a  point  from 
which  he  could  take  the  route  of"  Gralnes  Gap"  by  which 
he  had  advanced,  or  by  diverging  slightly  to  his  left,  proceed 
at  a  level  of  about  800  feet  in  the  direction  oflrishtown  along 
the  base  of  the  Scalp  mountain,  towards  the  pass  by  the 
Muillore.  Seaan  choose  the  latter  route,  as  Docwra 
who  had  followed  in  the  direction  leading  to  Troopers- 
town,  says, — "  and  coming  to  the  foot  of  a  mountain,  which 
they  [O'Doherty's  force]  were  to  pass  over  in  their  retreat, 
we  might  see  them  all  march  by  us,  though  but  slowlie,  yet 
with  as  much  speed  as  they  were  able  to  make,  being  to  our 
grieffe,  about  400  foot  and  60  horse,  and  we  making  as  much 
haste  on  our  parts  to  overtake  them". 

Seaan,  still  preserved  his  superior  choice  of  the  ground, 
and  from  his  vantage  elevation,  he  could  discover  beneath 
him,  every  movement  of  the  warlike  line  of  horse  and 
foot,  making  "  as  much  haste'1  up  the  steep  slopes  of  the 
Scalp,  as  they  were  able,  after  their  six  miles  contouring 
over  the  country,  from  "  the  Derrie",  through  Ballyma- 

1  Docwra's  Narration,  p.  241. 


520  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

groarty,  Ballyna-Galliagh,  Elaghmore,  where  from  the  level 
of  about  300  feet  above  Elagh  Castle  the  English  troops  had 
descended  over  the  inequalities  of  Magheryard,  Druma- 
dooey,  and  Gortin,  towards  Trooperstown,  to  the  level  of  100 
feet  when  by  that  time  Seaan  and  his  force  were  in  full  view, 
at  an  elevation  of  six  hundred  feet  on  his  comparatively  level 
route  going  towards  Cruach-an-eun. 

THE   BATTLE   OF  CRUACHANEUN. 

The  rough  pen  and  ink  sketch  we  have  given  above 
shews  the  position.  Cruachaneun  on  the  left  hand  side  of 
the  sketch,  lies  between  Esdevlin  Hill,  and  Cashel  Hill 
near  the  Muillore  pass. 

When  Chamberlaine,  and  after  him  Docwra,  had  diverged 
from  Gortin  towards  Trooperstown,  Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty, 
with  his  "  400  foote,  and  60  horse"  was  in  full  view  marching 
before  the  English  army  but  Slowlie,  he  Chamberlaine,  with 
the  whole  advance  forces  of  English  "  making  as  much  haste 
on  their partes  to  over  take  them'  at  the  top  of  the  "  moun- 
tain ivhich  they  were  to  pass  over  in  theire  retreate\ 

The  progress  of  the  retreat  and  the  advance,  can  be  readily 
apportioned,  Seaan  and  his  force  "  marching  slowly",  along 
the  base  of  the  Scalp  at  a  uniform  elevation  of  from  six  hun- 
dred feet,  slanting  in  a  distance  of  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter, 
to  an  elevation  of  800  feet  at  Cruchaneun,  whilst  Chamber- 
laine and  Docwra  with  their  forces,  were  traversing  a  similar 
distance  in  almost  a  straight  line  up  the  mountain,  from  the 
level  of  50  feet  at  the  foot  of  the  slope  at  Garvery,  up  to  the 
same  level  where  the  first  of  Seaan' s  forces  had  already  began 
to  disappear  behind  Cruachaneun.  Docwra  says:— "By 


BATTLE  OP  CBUAOHAmEUN.  521 

that  time  the  last  of  them  had  obtained  the  top  of  the  Hill, 
Sir  John  Chamberlaine,  and  I  with  some  10  horse  more, 
"were  come  up  close  in  theire  heels,  all  our  foote  and  the 
rest  of  our  horse  coining  after  us  as  fast  as  they  could"  a 
rash  experiment  for  the  Colonel  and  the  General  to  make, 
of  coming  close  on  the  heels  of  a  fighting  enemy  which 
both  knew,  and  estimated  to  be  of  a  strength  of  "  400  foot 
and  60  horse". 

Seaan  Oge  having  thus  gained  by  an  easy  route,  above 
Upper-Kilmacilvenny,  the  south-east  slope  of  Cruach-an-eun 
skirted  its  base  in  an  north-east  direction.  He  turned  east 
behind  the  summit  of  the  hill  and  ascended  to  gain  the  higher 
elevation  of  Esdevlin  Hill,  from  which  position,  owing  to 
the  configuration  of  the  mountain,  he  would  be  free  from 
attack  either  on  the  north  or  east,  and  from  the  position 
then  secured,  he  commanded  beneath  all  the  approaches 
of  the  pass  by  the  Muillore.  When  Sir  John  Chamberlaine 
and  his  advanced  forces,  had  obtained  the  base  of  the  hill 
at  Cruach-an-eun^  at  the  place  where  it  appeared  Seaan  Oge 
and  his  force  had  passed  over  in  their  retreat,  Seaan  was 
securely  observing  the  exact  strength  of  the  force  with  which 
he  had  to  fight,  as  Docwra  says : —  "  By  that  time  the  last  of 
them  [i.  e.  Seaan  Oge's  forces]  had  obtained  the  topp  of  the 
hill ;  Sir  John  Chamberlaine,  and  I  with  some  ten  horse 
more,  were  come  upp  close  in  their  heels,  all  our  foote  and  the 

1  For  the  benefit  of  our  readers,  we  give  the  Irish  record  of  this  battle 
of  Cruachaneun,  taken  from  a  contemporary  source  quite  as  reliable 
and  respectable  as  Docwra's  own  account,  i.e.  the  record  given  in  the 
Life  of  Red  Huyh  0' Donnell (in  Irish),  by  Peregrine*  or  Cucoghry  O'Clerf; 
the  original  is  in  the  Library,  R. LA. ,  Dublin.  Also  see  p.  271,  Life  of 
Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell,  by  Rev.  Denis  Murphy,  S.J.,  Dublin,  1893. 

•  See  O'Denovau's  note  at  p.  39»,  it.  C.  S. 

66 


522  •  INIS-OWHN   AND   TIECONNELL. 

rest  of  our  horse  coming  after  us  as  fast  as  they  could". 
It  is  not  to  be  read,  that  Chamberlaine  rode  on  alone  to 
attack  Seaan  Oge,  Chamberlaine,  as  Docwra  tells  in  his 
Narrative,  was  one  of  these  ardent  spirits  who  generally 
raided  with  a  company  of  "  700  troops  under  his  own  com- 
mand". 

Here  is  O'Clery's  record : — "  The  English  of  Derry  made 
a  fierce  and  merciless  attack  on  Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty,  with 
the  object  of  seizing,  slaying,  or  wounding  him.  But  it  was 
as  easy  to  put  one's  head  into  a  lion's  den  or  one's  hand  in- 
to a  griffin's  nest,  as  it  was  to  attack  Sedan  Oge,  so  long  as 
favourable  conditions  were  on  his  side  or  on  the  side  of  his 
earthly  lord  [O'Donnell]  when  the  English  who  had  sallied 
out  from  Derry  came  face  to  face  with  O'Doherty,  they  at- 
tacked each  other  with  merciless  hatred.  The  English  were 
defeated,  and  many  of  them  slain  along  with  their  colonel  and 
leader  on  that  occasion,  a  famous  knight  surnamed  Sir  John 
Chamberlaine.  [The  real  fighting  had  been  about  finished 
at  the  north-west  base  of  Cruach-an-eun  when  Docwra 's 
rear  came  into  action.]  O'Doherty  came  off  victorious 
having  inflicted  on  them  a  great  defeat". 

SIR  JOHN  CHAMBERLAINE  ATTACKS   IN  PERSON. 

It  is  to  be  recollected  that  this  is  Docwra's  own  account, 
calmly  written  fifteen  years  after  the  event,  when  he  had 
been  accused  by  Chichester  and  others,  of  having  been  the 
cause  of  much  delay  unto  their  cherished  projects  of  having 
the  country  cleared  of  the  obnoxious  natives.  Hence, 
Docwra,  has  been  placing  to  his  own  credit  the  most  favour- 
able account  of  the  transaction,  consistent  with  his  own  repu- 


BATTLE  OP  OBUACHANEUN.  523 

tation  and  honour  as  a  soldier,  of  an  action  in  which  he,  lik& 
many  another  skilful  general,  had  suffered  an  absolute  defeat ! 

Docwra  describes  in  his  narrative  about  Cruach-an-eun; 
"Having  thus  gained  the  verytopp  of  the  hill  and  seeing 
but  few  about  me",  the  advance  force  under  the  immediate 
command  of  Sir  John  Chamberlaine,  having  passed  over  the 
the  summit  in  search  of  Sedan  and  his  troops,  who  previous 
to  this  time  had  concluded  his  plan  of  battle  and  attack  in  the 
denies  of  the  Esdevlin  Hill.  Colonel  Chamberlaine,  with  all 
the  fiery  dash  of  his  modern  political  namesake,  attacked 
his  Inis-owen  foe  with  impetuous  zeal.  Seaan,  who  held  in 
reserve  a  portion  of  some  of  O'Donnell's  troops,  who  had 
been  continually  skirmishing  with  the  main  garrison  at  Derry, 
from  the  Sheriffs  mountain,  and  who  were  within  easy  reach 
on  the  Crislaghmore  side  of  the  mountain,  now  advanced  to 
repel  the  attack  commenced  by  Sir  John  Chamberlaine 
in  person.  The  result  of  the  onslaught,  by  the  veteran  who 
defended  the  Pass  of  Bealacli  Buidhe,  was  not  long  held  ia 
doubt,  as  Docwra's  reinforcement  as  he  says  "all  out  of 
breath  and  exceedingly  tired",  found  their  place  in  the 
conflict. 

Docwra  in  his  own  person,  like  a  prudent  general,  did 
not  rush  "on  upon  the  heeles"  of  Seaan  and  his  forces,  he 
contented  himself,  as  he  says : — "  With  a  few  about  me,  I 
stayed,  and  bade  a  stand  to  be  made  till  more  company 
might  come  upp".  Docwra  evidently  required  all  the  re- 
inforcements at  his  command  at  that  particular  juncture, 
during  which  Seaan  Oge  was  deploying  his  force  with 
effect  upon  Sir  John  Chamberlaine,  and  the  forces  under 
his  command.  Docwra  was  uneasy  even  after  his  own 
advent,  as  to  how  the  engagement  was  proceeding  on  the 


524  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

slopes  of  Esdevlin  Hill,  immediately  above  Cruachaneun, 
as  he  says  :  —  "  With  all  [1  kept]  casting  my  head  about  to 
see  how  our  men  followed".     Docwra  was  occupying  a 
position  on  the  "  very  topp  of  the  Hill",  directing  his  troops 
to  follow  the  lead  taken  by  Sir  John  Chamberlaine,  who  was 
then  being  hotly  engaged  and  repulsed  by  Seaan  Oge  and  his 
forces,  who  were  at  that  moment  repeating  a  similar  discom- 
fiture on  the  forces  under  Chamberlaine  between  Cruach-an- 
eun  and  Esdevlin  Hill,  that  he  had  inflicted,  only  a  year 
previously  at  the  pass  of  Bealach  Buide,  on  the  army  led 
by  Ratcliffe    and   Clifford,   against  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell. 
The  reinforcements  Docwra  so  ardently  brought  on  during 
this  engagement,   consisted  he  says: — of  the  horse   sur- 
rounding himself,    "  I   seeing  the  foote  far  behind  and 
our  horse  but  slowlie  clyming  upp",   it  will  be  observed 
that  previously  Docwra   states  that'Seaan   with  his  foote 
and  horse  had  marched  before  them,  "  but  slowlie",  whilst 
his  own  forces  were  "  making  as  much  hast  on  our  partes 
to  overtake  them",  so  that  the   reinforcements  he   sought 
were  those  of  the  garrisons  of  Culmore  and'Elagh,  or  other 
troops  from  the  main  army  at  Derry,  to  which,    doubtless, 
he  applied,  when  Chamberlaine  and  he  found  as  he  says:  "  to 
our  grieffe",  that  Seaan's  force  was  a  larger  one  than  a  mere 
party  of  skirmishers.  Bethatas  it  may,  Docwra  felt  so  uncom- 
fortable with  his  position,  that  he  tells  us  he  again  turned  "  to 
see  how  our  men  followed",  [the  forces  of  O'DohertyJ  "  when 
twining  about  againe  I  might  see  Sir  John  Chamberlaine 
unhorsed,  lying  on  the  ground  a  stone's  cast  before  mee". 
[This  shews  Docwra  had  advanced  to  Chamberlaine's  relief,] 
*'and   at  least  a  dozen  hewing  at  him   with  their  swords". 
Chamberlaine's  coat   of  mail   armour,  though  efficient 


BATTLE  OF  CRUACHANEUN.  525 

against  long  range  shot,  had  little  effect  against  close- 
quarter  fighting  with  broad  swords.  Of  course  Docwra  did 
not  expect "  400  men  and  60  horse  commanded  by  Scaan 
Og3,  to  quietly  look  on  while  Chamberlaine  and  his  forces, 
were  giving  death-dealing  battle  upon  them.  Docwra 
seeing  his  Colonel  and  leader  of  the  advance  troops,  who 
had  attacked  Seaan,  repulsed,  defeated  and  lying  on  the 
ground,  he  like  a  brave  soldier  says :  "  I  presentlie  gave 
forward",  [i.e.,  he  presently  advanced  with  his  reserves] 
"to  have  rescued  him",  when  Docwra  himself  ran  a  like 
danger,  which  but  for  his  coat  of  mail,  would  have  proved 
of  greater  disaster  to  him  than  even  the  loss  of  his  Colonel, 
as  he  tells  that  in  his  advance  to  rescue  Chamberlaine's 
body,  his  own  "  horse  was  shott  in  two  places  and  fell 
deade  under  mee".  Docwra  clearly  had  got  into  hot 
quarters  in  the  battle  of  Cruachaneun.  And  it  is  not  wonder- 
ful he  expressed  his  "  grieffe"  that  Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty  had 
with  him  a  fighting  force,  though  small  compared  with  his 
own'',  as  the  Four  Masters  say  so,  and  they  are  quite  equal  as 
authorities  to  that  of  Docwra's  narrative  written  for 
his  own  defense,  and  accounting  for  his  own  defeat. 

This  defeat  of  Docwra  at  the  battle  of  Cruachaneun,  is 
confirmed  from  two  distinct  Irish  sources,  both  of  which 
corroborate  Docwra's  own  account,  of  the  defeat,  and 
death  of  Sir  John  Chamberlaine.  In  O'Kelly's  English 
translation  of  the  History  of  Ireland,  written  in  the  French 
language  by  the  Abbe  MacGeoghegan,  we  read  that  : 
"The  Lieutenant  of  General  Docwra  having  sallied  out  of 
Deny,  in  the  absence  of  the  Prince  of  Tircormell,  was  killed 
by  O'Doherty,  to  whom  O'Donnell  had  given  the  defence 
of  the  country  in  his  own  absence,  so  that  the  English  would 


526  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIROONNELL. 

have  cause  to  repent  of  Lough  Foyle" — '  The  generosity 
of  Docwra  in  his  narrative,  desiring  to  take  the  whole 
blame  for  the  defeat  upon  himself  is  apparent,  since  it  is 
clearthat  Chamberlainehad  first  gone  out  onhia  own  account 
to  the  skirmish  at  Elagh,  and  that  Docwra,  when  he  saw 
the  engagement,  went  with  reinforcements  to  Chamber- 
laine's  assistance.2  This  confirmation  of  Docwra's  account 
becomes  the  more  important  as  it  shows  more  clearly  than 
does  Docwra's  own  acconnt,  that  his  Lieutenant  or  Colonel 
Chamberlaine  had  sallied  out  to  attack  O'Doherty,  and 
that  the  "  twyning  around"  of  Docwra,  on  the  top  of  the  hill 
to  see  how  the  troops  were  advancing  to  reinforce  Cham- 
berlaine, shews  as  we  suspected,  that  Chamberlaine  had 
'  sallied  out  to  make  short  work  of  Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty. 
The  battle  in  which  he  met  his  death  near  Cruach- 
aneun,  had  been  proceeding  for  some  time  when  Docwra 
with  the  reinforcements  from  Derry  came  upon  the  scene. 
Docwra  says :  "  wee  recovered  his  body,  but  wounded 
with  16  wounds,  and  instantlie  giving  up  the  Ghost,  where- 
upon wee  made  a  stand  in  the  place,  and  staying  till  more 
came  up,  wee  brought  him  off  and  suffered  them  to  march 
away  without  further  pursuite".3  If  Docwra  had  been 
correct  in  remembrance  of  the  defeat,  he  would  no 
doubt  have  recorded  that  Scaan  Oge  permitted  the  de- 
feated to  carry  off  Chamberlaine's  body  for  interment  at 
the  base  of  Esdevlin  Hill,  during  which  armistice  for 
burying  the  dead  on  the  field  of  battle,  Docwra  retreated 

1  Hist.  Ireland,  by  Abbe   MacGeorjhegan,   translated  from  'the  French 

2  Four  Masters,  (/Donovan's  edition,  vol.  iii.,  p.  2224,  Dublin,  1848. 
by  Patrick  O'Kelly,  p.  522,  Dublin,  1844. 

Docwra's  Narration,  Misc.  C.S.  p.  241,  Dublin,  1849. 


BATTLE   OF  CRUACHANEUN.  527 

back  to  his  stronghold,  and  allowed  Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty 
to  remain  in  undisputed  possession  not  only  of  the  field  he 
had  won  against  great  odds,  but  also  in  custody  of  the 
graves  of  the  vanquished  foe.  Confirmation  of  this  appears 
on  the  face  of  the  Ordnance  Survey  Map  of  the  parish  of 
Upper  Fahan,  where  on  Sheet  No.  38  (Co.  Donegal.)  is 
engraved  at  the  contour  level  of  about  1000  feet  above  the 
sea  level,  on  the  face  of  the  hill  above  and  between  Cris- 
laghsallagh  and  Esdevlin,  the  place  was  still  pointed  out  to 
O'Donovan  and  the  Ordnance  Surveyors  in  1835,  the  site 
of"  Chamberlains  Grave".  The  site  of  the  grave  and  battle- 
ground are  visible  from  the  Catholic  Church  of  Upper 
Fahan,  from  which  they  are  distant  about  one  mile.  By  an 
easy  route,  the  site  of  this  famous  battlefield  of  Cruachaneun 
may  be  reached  by  the  Muillore  Stone,  and  therefrom  east- 
wards along  the  townland  boundary  between  Creslaghmore, 
and  Kilmacilvenny.1  Docwra  after  this  crushing  defeat, 
left  Inis-owen  quiet  for  a  time,  as  his  next  raid  was  made 
on  the  2nd  July,  when  he  went  "  in  boats  with  800  men 
to  put  up  a  fort  at  Dunalong",  and  it  was  not  till  the  4th 
October,  he  found  himself  able  to  again  raid  in  Inis-owen. 
This  he  was  only  able  to  do,  because  Niall  Garve  O'Don- 
nell  had  "  came  in  with  40  horse  and  60  foot  to  whom 
Docwra  promised  in  behalf  of  the  Queen  [Eliz].,  the  whole 
county  of  Tirconnell  to  himself  and  his  heirs,  which  was 
confirmed  by  the  Lord  Deputies  and  Council  in  Dublin, 
and  his  service  we  could  ill  have  spared  at  the  time."  — For 

1  The  only  guardian  of  the  Muillore  Stone  and  Cruachaneun  during 
our  recollection,  has  been  a  solitary  house  built  on  the  boundary  of  the 
tovrnlands,  and  occupied  by  a  native  named  John  Lynch. 


528  INIS-OWEN    AND  TIRCONNELL. 

this  treachery  to  his  country — Niall  Garve,  when  his  ser- 
vices were  no  longer  required,  had  for  recompense  a  prison 
cell  along  with  his  son,  in  the  Tower  of  London  till  his 
death.  Thus  by  deceit  and  promises  never  intended  to  be 
honourably  kept,  was  the  foundation  of  the  present  City  of 
Derry  laid  in  an  expenditure  of  human  sufferings  and  much 
bloodshed,  every  stick  and  stone  of  which  was  besmeared 
with  falsehood  and  deceit,  and  a  total  disregard  for  the 
feelings  and  lives  of  the  native  Irish  owners. 

Docwra  tells  of  how  that — "now  the  winter  began  to  be 
feirce  upon  us,  our  men  wasted  with  continual  laboures, 
the  Land  [i.  e.  The  Derry]  scattered  with  cabins  full  of 
sick  men,  our  biskitt  all  spent,  our  other  provisions  of 
nothing  but  meale,  butter,  and  a  little  wine,  and  that  by 
computation  to  hold  out  but  six  days  longer".  Such  was 
the  plight  Docwra  and  his  well  equipped  army  found  them- 
selves in,  even  after  Arthur  O'Neale,  son  of  old  Turlogh- 
Looney  O'Neale  had  came  in  to  his  aid.  For  his  doing  so, 
Docwra  promising  "  by  orders  from  the  state  to  make  his 
father  Earle  of  Tyrone,  if  the  other  [Red  Hugh]  could  be 
dispossessed  of  the  country" ! '  At  this  juncture  on  like  pro- 
mises made,  came  in  Neale  Garvie  O'Donnell,  by  whose 
advice  Docwra  again  went  down  to  Inis-owen,  on  the  4th 
October,  to  seize  a  prey  of  cattle  belonging  to  Sea"an  Oge 
O'Doherty,  in  the  Isle  of  Inch,  "but  the  tides  falling  out 
extraordinary  high  [they]  were  not  able  to  pass  them  to 
get  in,  [the  tides]  so  [they]  were  forced  to  turn  their 
course  and  go  down  into  O'Doherty's  Countrie,  ["  Beart 
Castle  and  Inch  Castle  were  still  in  O'Doherty's  posses- 

1  Docwra! s  Narration,  p.  240, 246. 


BATTLE   OF  CRUACHANEUN, 


529 


sion  and  they  may  have  had  something  to  do  with  the  change 
of  route,  as  well  as  the  state  of  the  tides, — low  water 
would  have  been  about  mid-day,]  though  to  little  purpose, 


BEART   CASTLE.  (Looking  towards  the  south-west  from  Railway,  near 
Trady  (Traightaigh). 

only  some  stacks  of  corne  were  found  [at  Churchtown, 


t  KUINS  OF  INCH  CASTLE  (Looking  towards  the  South.) 

67 


530 


AND  TIItCONNELL, 


Fahan],  which  wee  sett  on  fire"  !  l  Valiant  warriors  !  We 
give  a  sketch  of  the  position  of  Beart  Castle  and  the 
ruins  of  O'Doherty's  Castb  of  the  Isle  of  Inch,  in  Lough 


RUINS  OP  INCH  CASTLE.  (Looking  towards  the  East). 

Swilly.  As  both  are  now  fast  hastening  to  become  com- 
plete ruins,  perhaps  this  remainder  of  interesting  features 
in  the  landscape,  may  serve  to  direct  attention  for  their 
preservation,  or  towards  obtaining  a  more  elaborate  des- 
cription by  some  person  better  qualified  than  we  have  had 
time  to  do  to  give  their  outlines  and  history.  Docwra 
says  —  "About  Christmas  of  this  year  dyed  Sir  John 


'  s  Narration,  p.  24G. 


BATTLE  OF  CRUACHANEUff.  531 

O'Doghertie  in  Tirconnell,  being  fledd  from  his  own 
country  with  his  goods  and  people,  a  man  that  in  ehew 
seemed  wonderfull  desirous  to  yield  his  obedience  to 
the  Queene,  but  soe  as  his  actions  did  ever  argue,  ho 
was  otherwise  minded".1  Docwra  had  no  right  to  record 
"the  intentions"  of  his  adversary,  but  he  had  good  reason 
to  speak  of  Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty's  "  actions",  for  he  was  too 
well  aware  they  belonged  not  to  servility,  but  to  the  "  fight- 
ing kind." — Though  it  was  clear  to  even  a  warrior  of  Sedan's 
ability,  that  to  contend  against  an  open  foe  was  honourable, 
but  to  have  to  defend  his  territory  from  pillage,  fire  and 
sword,  deceit  and  falsehoods,  and  when  the  foe  had  re- 
ceived reinforcements  from  those  whom  he  had  been  taught 
to  look  upon  as  friends,  were  quite  enough  to  cause  him 
to  despair,  But  to  the  last  almost  alone  he  preserved 
his  arms  and  upheld  his  sword  unscathed,  protecting  and 
defending  his  native  land,  and  in  the  guardianship  of  the  ter- 
ritory of  Inis-0  wen  and  Tirconnell,  which  duty  had  been 
entrusted  to  his  keeping  by  his  earthly  lord,  Hugh  Roo 
O'Donnell.  In  the  exercise  of  this  duty  as  became  the 
representative  of  a  long  line  of  ancestors,  he  valiantly 
fought,  till  borne  down  by  sheer  physical  debility,  which 
was  the  effect  of  many  a  hard  fought  conflict  and  two 
years  of  miserable  torture  as  a  prisoner  in  the  fostid  cells 
of  Dublin  Castle,  under  the  venal  Lord  Deputy,  Fitz- 
William,  who  had  to  be  bribed  to  suffer  Sedan  to  escape. 
Peregrine  (or  Cuchogry)  O'Clery  in  Ms.  in  the  "Life  of 
Hugh  Hoe  O'Donnell^  in  Irish,2  summarizes  the  battle  of 

1  Narration,  p.  248. 

-  Fol.  lib,  72a,  MS.  Library  R.  I.  A.,  and  p.  271,  Fr.  Murphy,  S.  J., 
Life  of  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell. 


532  INIS-OWEN   AND   TIRCONNELL. 

Cruachaneun,  in  language  that  may  be  translated  thus  : — 
"  The  poor  unfortunate  corpulent  English  when  they  came 
face  to  face  with  O'Doherty,  they  attacked  each  other  rest- 
less with  hatred.  The  English  were  defeated  by  O'Doherty, 
who  gained  over  them  a  complete  victory.  Their  colonel 
and  leader,  with  many  of  the  army  were  slain.  He  was 
a  famous  knight,  named  Sir  John  Chamberlain. 

"  Alas  !  This  was  the  last  victory  Seaan  Og  gained  over 
the  English  while  defending  from  them  his  patrimony  and 
the  territorial  possessions  of  his  fathers,  his  lordship  [of 
Inis-Owen].  In  a  comparatively  short  time  afterwards,  he 
was  seized  with  an  excessive  disease  and  sickness,  which 
he  bore  patiently  till  his  spirit  passed  away,  on  the  27th 
January,  1601".  O'Clery  bestows  on  Seaan  Og  a  tribute 
of  praise,  as  one  specially  brave  and  renowned  in  "  deeds 
of  war  and  arms,  in  hospitality  and  fame.  He  was  as  a 
girdle  of  steel  in  unbending,  energetic,  undaunted  and 
vigorous  in  attack.  Huo;h  Roe  O'Donnell  received  the 

o  O 

news  of  Seaan  Oge's  death  with  much  grief  and  great 
sorrow". 

SeAAtl    05    U4   t)OCAftCA15. 

We  have  seen  that  the  death  of  Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty 
took  place  in  Tirconnell.  We  have  not  been  able  to  as- 
certain with  sufficient  accuracy  in  what  place  the  last 
independent  chieftain  of  Inis-Owen  died.  Peregrine 
O'Clery's  record  says  : — *'  That  the  death  of  him  who  died 
then  was  sad  and  doleful,  for  there  was  hardly  a  chief  of 
one  cantred  [district]  in  the  island  of  Ercmon  [all  Ireland] 
in  late  times  who  was  braver  or  more  active  in  deeds  of 


SEAAN  OGE   O'DOHERTY.  533 

war'and  arms  than  he.  As  soon  as  the  sad  tidings  of  his 
death  were  conveyed  to  Hugh  Roe  O'Donnell  [who  was 
at  the  time  in  his  camp  on  the  West  bank  of  the  Finn, 
and  on  the  East  side  of  Be&rnus],  his  sorrow  was  so  great 
that  he  rested  not,  but  left  his  camp,  and  taking  but  few 
with  him,  he  collected  all  the  vigilant  nobility  of  the  Clan 
Fiaman,  [i.e.  he  collected  all  the  chief  leaders  of  the  race 
of  Fiaman,  the  clan  name  of  the  O'Dohertys]  at  the  place 
of  honour  and  counsel,  at  Baile-Aighidh-Chaoin" V  now 
Balleeghan.2  Its  Irish  name  would  be  pronounced  Bal- 
eye-keen  (eye  in  Irish  is  face  or  surface,  and  keen,  pleasant 
or  delightful).3 

The  place  of  meeting  "  of  counsel  and  honour"  is 
called  " Ard-na-taoisigh,  i.e.  "the  hill  or  height  of  the 
chief". 

Balleeghan  stands  about  164  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
Swilly  that  washes  its  western  boundary,  and  on  the  bank 
of  which  there  are  the  ruins  of  an  abbey,  and  a  burial 
ground.  The  only  name  now  existing  that  might  preserve 
a  similarity  to  "  Ard-na-taoisigh"  is  the  place  known  on  the 
Ordnance  Survey  as  Ard-na-itian,  Ard,  the  hill,  na,  of  the, 
id,  ring,  collar,  or  chain,  and  ion,  a  circle.  Thus  we  have 
the  height  or  hill  of  the  circle,  or  ring,  i.e.  "jurisdiction".* 

Seaan  Og  O'Doherty,  in  our  opinion,  having  gone  forth 
from  Inis-Owen  to  Tirconnell  with  his  people  and  flocks, 

1  O'Clery's  Life  o/Ao-o  n«<vo,  fol.  71  R.  I.  A.,  andZt/e  of  Hugh  Roe 
O'Donnell,  by  Father  Murphy,  S.J.,  p.  271,  Dublin,  1893. 

•  See  Inis-Owen  and  Tirconnell,  p.  GG  1st  serie?,  Dublin,  1891. 

3  O'Donovan's  Ordnance  Survey  MS.,  dated  Letterkenny,  Sept.  24, 
1835,  in  Library  R.  I.  A. 

*  O'Donovan's  F.M.  "fditionis]",  p.  1589. 


534  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

shortly  after  the  battle  of  Cruachaneun,  would  have  lo- 
cated himself  across  the  Swilly,  perhaps  near  Letterkenny, 
and,  at  the  time  before  his  death,  he  would  be  out  of  the  in- 
fluence of  both  Docwra  at  Derry  and  Niall  Garve,  who 
resided  at  Castle  Finn ;  as  well  as  being  within  easy  reach 
of  Hugh  Koe,  his  territorial  lord.  An  additional  reason  was 
the  vicinity  of  the  Franciscan  Abbey  of  Kill-O'Donnell 
to  Ard-na-taoisigh,  where  the  O'Dohertys  had  been 
elected  when  they  were  chiefs  of  Ardmore  and  Tir-Enna 
(now  the  Lagan),  and  where,  since  they  had  become  chiefs, 
of  Inis-Owen  they  continued  to  be  chosen.  This  meeting 
at  Ballagheen  to  appoint  a  successor  was  only  about 
two  miles  distant  across  the  Swilly  from  Kil-0'Donnell. 
Seaan  we  believe  received  sepulture  either  in  the  Abbey  of 
Kil-O'Donnell ;  or  in  the  Abbey  of  Ballagheen,  both  of 
which  burial  grounds  may  be  viewed  from  the  Ard-na- 
idion;  or  "  Ard-na-taoisigh". 

The  materials  both  printed  and  in  MS.,  from  which  ve 
have  made  the  extracts  to  vindicate  and  commemorate  the 
chieftains  of  Inis-owen,  that  now  appear  in  this  chapter,  are 
those  the  most  reliable  within  our  reach.  Our  endeavour 
has  been  to  present  our  readers  with  a  truthful  account  of 
transactions  connected  with  Inis-Owen  and  Tirconnell,  in 
which  the  last  two  chieftains  of  the  name  bonie  by  our 
progenitors  for  many  generations  were  prominent  actors, 
so  that  their  actions  should  be  placed  in  no  uncertain  side- 
light, by  which  truth  could  be  obscured,  as  has  hitherto 
invariably  been  done,  by  all  writers  who  have  taken  Cox 
and  his  copyists  as  their  guides. 


PAULETT.  535 

It  is  clear  Paulett's  arrival  at  Derry,  to  take  over  the 
Governorship  was  an  ill-omened  selection  of  Salisbury's 
as  the  new  Governor  was  not  even  a  soldier.  Chichester 
complains  to  Salisbury  that  he  has  "made  an  ill  exchange 
in  having  Mr.  Paulett  at  the  Dyrrie";  fears  "  he  is  not  fit  for 
that  command.  Many  dissentions  have  arisen  since  he 
came  thither".1  Even  Geo.  [Montgomery]  Derrensis 
accuses  Paulett  for  calumniating  him.2 

ATTEMPT    TO   SURPRISE  A   LADY. 

November  4,  1607  Paulett,  [then  Sir  George]  wrote  as 
follows  to  the  Lord  Deputy  :  "  when  he  knew  that  Sir 
Richard  Hansard  [Governor  of  Ballyshannon]  had  written 
to  his  lordship  the  first  report  of  Sir  Cahir  O'Dohertye's 
flying  out  [i.e.  of  putting  himself  on  the  defensive]  .... 
employed  some  persons,  to  give  him  certain  knowledge  of  his 
designs,  and  wrote  presently  to  him  very  kindly  assurances 
of  his  sorrow  for  the  reports  which  were  raised  on  him, 
not  believing  the  same,  and  desired  him  to  repair  to  him 
at  Derry".  [These  were  the  "  kindly  assurances"  of  the 
man  who  had  already  struck  O'Doherty  an  unmanly  blow.] 
"  Eeceived  no  answer  to  this ;  and  even  this  day,  being  the 
4th  of  this  instant  November.  Went  to  Byrte  Castle,  ac- 
companied by  Captain  Harte  and  Captain  Sydney,  to  Sir 
Cahir's  Lady  [who  was  the  Hon.  Mary  Preston,  a  daughter 
of  Lord  Gormanstown's],  purposing  (as  they  found  the 
place  furnished)  to  have  surprised  it ;  [this  was  an  act  of 
"kindly  assurance",]  but  by  intelligence  of  one  [a  spy] 

p.  113,  Calendar,  S.  P.  February  ?0,  1GOG. 
8  C.  S.  P.,  p.  125;  4th  March,  160G. 


536  INIS-OWEN    AND    TIECONNELL. 

whom  he  [Paulett]  sent  to  discover  the  inward  strength  of 
the  place,  was  advertised  that  there  were  sixteen  or  twenty 
men,  well  appointed,  within  the  Castle ;  and  so  they  [the 
valiant  Governor  and  Captains  who  went  "  to  surprise"  a 
Lady  in  her  own  Castle,  who  had  only  recently,  since  her 
marriage  with  O'Doherty,  came  into  Byrte  Castle  from 
Gormanstown  Castle,  near  Dublin,]  "  durst  make  no 
further  attempt,  for  fear  of  being  themselves  surprised". 
"  But  they  certainly  understood  that  Sir  Cahir  O'Doherty 
has  put  himself  into  the  strength  of  300  men,  with  the 
chiefest  of  his  country,  and  stands  upon  his  guard 
(as  his  lady  saith)  until  he  has  written  to  his  Lordship  and 
received  his  answer.  Under  pretence  of  going  to  Cana- 
beyer-wood  [Kinawoyre,  Ceann~Maghaire\,1  to  cut  timber 
for  his  building,  after  he  had  received  arms  out  of  the 
store,  he  armed  about  30  persons,  and  called  unto  him 
Shane  Mac  Manus  Oge  [O'Donnell]  by  whose  consent  he 
has  taken  the  isle  of  Torrey,  and  manned  the  Castle,  and 
is  gone  with  his  boats  down  by  water  to  Malolinge  [MalinJ 
into  a  very  strong  place  [Carick-braughy]  in  the  midst  of 
Inishowen"  [Sir  Richard  Hansard,  1st  November,  1607, 
took  time  by  the  forelock  and  wrote  to  Salisbury  certain 
reports  about  Sir  Cahir  O'Doherty,  [that  he  had]  "put 
himself  with  his  wife  and  the  principal  gentlemen  of  his 
country  into  boats  of  his  own"  [destination,8  Torry]. 
"  Phelemy  Serrghe  [Reagh]  who  is  with  him,  had  before 
gathered  all  his  provisions  into  the  Castle  of  Byrte,  so 
that  now  he  [Paulett]  finds  his  judgment  of  Sir  Cahir 
nothing  deceived".  [It  was  a  race  between  Hansard  and 

i  See  I.  and  T.  (1st  series,  p.  180). 
3  Calendar  S.  P.  1606-8,  p.  315. 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  537 

Paulett  as  to  who  would  be  first  in  the  field,  in  spread- 
ing reports  and  supplying  news.J 

O'Doherty  was  well  aware,  since  the  departure  of  the 
Earls  of  Tyrone  and  Tirconnell  on  the  14th  September, 
1607,  that  almost  alone,  he  was  in  the  way  of  these  un- 
scrupulous adventurers.  Therefore,  to  get  rid  of  him,  by 
every  means,  was  their  chief  object.  Consequently,  on  the 
4th  November,  1607,  O'Doherty  wrote  from  Carrigabraughy 
to  the  Lord  Deputy,  "  accounting  for  his  going  on  the  last 
day  of  October  to  a  wood  in  Tirconnell,  where  he  found  the 
report  spread  that  he,  O'Doherty,  had  gone  into  action  [i.e. 
into  revolt].  Upon  hearing  this  he  returned  home,  when  he 
found  the  Governor  of  Derry  and  Sheriff  "  were  gone  to 
his  house,  where  his  wife  and  all  that  he  has  is,  and  would 
have  had  the  house  delivered  to  themselves,  by  fair  means, 
or  otherwise  would  havo  taken  it  by  force.  Hearing  of  the 
like,  durst  not  go  to  them,  for  very  fear  of  himself;  no 
more  did  his  wife  send  to  him  to  know  anything  of  him. 
They  seized  him  as  a  rebel,  so  that  he  durst  not  go  home".1 

O'DOHERTY'S  LETTER  TO  PAULETT. 

Paulett  enclosed  to  Chichester  the  following  letter  from. 
O'Doherty  to  himself,  dated  "  Caragh-Braughy,  4th  Novem- 
ber, 1607",  together  with  a  copy  of  his  reply  to  O'Doherty 
as  under : — 

"Sir.  Geo.  Paulett,  I  understand  you  hold  a  very  hard 
opinion  of  me,  and  that  you  were  at  my  house  to  have  it 
delivered  to  your  hands,  which  I  do  think  myself  very 
hardly  dealt  withal,  you  knowing  no  more  of  my  bad  facts ; 
for  I  do  think  myself  as  good  as  you,  and  as  any  one  that 
1607,  Nov.  4.  S.P.  Ireland,  vol.  222,  11G9,  Calendar,  COG-8,p.316. 

68 


538  INIS-OWEN    AND    TIRCONNELL. 

would  say  the  like  in  my  behalf;  but  hearing  of  your  hard 
dealing  in  this  case,  I  will  not  trust  any  of  you  until  such 
time  as  1  hear  of  my  Lord  Deputy ;  and  then  I  do  think 
some  of  you  here  that  charged  me  so  wrongfully  so  sure 
will  be  ashamed  of  it,  and  thus  I  rest  your  loving  friend". 

INSOLENCE. 

Paulett  sent  the  following  reply  to  O'Doherty,  dated 
Deny,  5th  November,  1607  : 

•    "SirCahir,— 

"Your  writings  are  like  your  dealings,  the  one  very  dis- 
loyal, the  other  very  false.  I  gave  by  my  late  letters  unto 
you  better  testimony  of  the  good  opinion  I  hold  of  you, 
neither  did  I  until  yesterday  believe  the  common  bruit  of 
your  disloyal  going  into  armour.  No  man  in  these  parts 
hath  less  cause  of  offence  than  you,  none  more  encourage- 
ment for  well  doing,  especially  from  the  Lord  Deputy  ;  for 
my  usage  of  you  I  ask  no  better  testimony  than  your  own 
knowledge.  It  seems  you  were  very  near  the  Castle,  that 
could  so  soon  hear  of  my  coming  and  purpose,  who  yet 
never  conceived  the  thought  of  demand  or  delivery  thereof, 
being  possessed  of  a  better  opinion  of  you  than  now,  I  am 
satisfied  you  did  deserve.  [But  Litera  scripta  manet  and 
condemns  Paulett,  as  he  had  written  on  the  previous  day  to, 
Chichester,  that  he  had  gone  on  that  date  to  Byrte  Castle  to 
have  surprized  it  !  "].' 

"  My  purpose  was  to  have  seen  your  lady,  and  from 
her  to  have  known  your  intent  if  I  could,  and  to  have 
given  her  the  best  advice  I  could  for  your  part ;  but  under- 

1  See  p.  535,  mite 


O'DOHEETY'S  REVOLT,  539 

standing  even  then,  by  more  certain  intelligence  than 
before,  on  what  terms  you  stood,  I  did  not  think  it  fit  to 
proceed  any  further,  and  so  I  sent  your  lady  word,  which 
it  seems  was  very  speedily  conveyed  unto  you  being  at  the 
least  twenty  miles  off  as  the  text  of  your  letters  shows'". 
"  I  see  you  would  draw  on  matter  from  us  to  colour  your 
disloyal  action,  by  supposed  of  bad  dealings  offered  you 
from  us  ;  but  you,  with  your  legion  of  priests  and  friars, 
late  sent  from  Spain,  are  discovered  well  enough.  How- 
ever, you  stand  upon  your  justification,  if  you  do  not 
presently  dispose  of  your  men,  and  lay  down  your  arms 
(the  which  in  His  Majesty's  name  I  [order]  you  to  do  and 
in  the  duty  of  your  allegiance)  I  will  forthwith  denounce 
and  proclaim  you  a  disloyal  subject  to  the  King,  a  false 
and  treacherous  traitor  to  his  quiet  government,  his  crown, 
and  dignity ;  [Davis's  formulae  had  been  adopted  at  an 
early  stage]  and  if  you  persist  in  this  your  folly,  if  it  be 
my  fortune  to  meet  you  in  the  field  on  horseback  or  on 
foot,1  I  doubt  not  but  to  make  your  proud  spirit  know  the 
difference  between  a  good  subject  and  a  disloyal  false 
hearted  traitor ;  and  so  wishing  confusion  to  your  actions, 
I  leave  you  to  a  provost  marshal  [the  hangman]  and  his 
halter".2 

GEO.  PAULETT, 
Derrij)  5th  November,  1607. 

WELCOME    NEWS. 

llth  September,  1008.     Chichestcr  to  Salisbury  says— 

1  Valiant  Governor !     But    this   braggart,   according  to  Lieutenant 
Baker,  "  cut  and  run  for  it  the  first  time  he  heard  a  noise".    Infra,  p.  544. 
-  Nov.  5.  6,  P.  Ireland,  vol.  222,  171  A.  Calendar,  1606-8,  p.  318. 


540  INIS  -OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL, 

"  Welcome  news",  said  as  to  Tirconnell's  death  [he  was 
only  thirty  two  years  of  age]  and  Cathbar  twenty  five,  who 
followed  him  to  the  grave  only  a  few  years  after,1  [but  it 
was  O'Neill's  death  that  they  most  desired. 


CULMQRE  AND  DERRY.' 

The  taking  of  Culmore  and  Deny  by  Cahir  O'Doherty 
on  the  18th  April,  1608,  caused  Chichester  to  examine 
into  the  matter,  and  after  having  received  written  detailed 
reports,  he  placed  these,  accompanied  by  a  report  of  his 
own,  before  the  Privy  Council.3 

We  extract  from  Chichester's  report  as  follows  : — 
"  Sends  enclosed,  containing  the  later  and  truest  dec- 
larations of  the  manner  of  taking  Culmore  and  Derry,  as 
Captain  Harte  and  Lieutenant  Baker  themselves  have, 
upon  their  coming  hither,  delivered  them  under  their  own 
hands.  All  this  disaster  happened  from  not  observing 
discipline  in  their  nightly  watchings,  a  matter  altogether 
neglected  by  the  Governor'  [Paulett]  ....  "It  is  reported 
likewise  that  he  was  so  odious  to  the  soldiers  and  to  the 
rest  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  besides,  that  they 
would  have  done  him  a  mischief  in  the  tumult,  if  he  had 
escaped  the  rebels  and  come  in  amongst  them.  Hears  but 
of  six  or  seven  men  slain  of  a  side,  of  whom  four  were 
soldiers,  besides  the  Governor's  lieutenant  and  ensign. 
Six  or  eight  of  the  soldiers  ran  away  to  the  enemy". 

1  Plant.  Ulsl.,  by  Rev.  Geo.  Hill,  p.  150,  Belfast,  1877. 

*  See  ante,  p.  490. 

•  May  i,  1G08,  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  224-92. 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  541 

Chichester  even,  disposes  of  the  "Massacre  of  the 
entire  garrisons",  as  told  by  Cox,  and  those  who  have 
since  been  his  copyists,  and  who  have  repeated  his  fable. 

CAPTAIX  HART'S  REPORT. 

We  now  give  from  Captain  Hart's  own  letter  what  he 
says  about  the  "  Massacre  at  Culmore".  The  full  text  of 
Hart's  Keport  appears  printed.1  After  relating  all  the 
gossip  conveyed  to  him  by  O'Doherty,  and  of  the  latter's 
complaint  of  "  How  imkindly  his  lady  took  it  that  none  of 
all  the  gentlewomen  of  Deny  ever  came  to  see  her  since 
her  coming  into  the  country,  which  he  (Hart)  excused  by 
reason  of  the  time  of  the  year,  and  foul  weather'',  [then 
April  ]  Hart  tells  circumstantially  how  he  had  been  dis- 
armed at  Buncrana,  and  of  the  threats  made  by  O'Doherty 
to  cause  him  to  surrender  the  fort,  which  as  an  honest  soldier 
as  he  was,  he  declined  to  do,  and  how,  after  reaching  within  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  of  Culmore,  he  was  left  in  charge  of  about 
six  men,  whilst  O'Doherty  proceeded  with  Hart's  wife  and 
about  twenty  of  his  followers  when  the  stratagem  of 
asking  relief  for  Hart,  who  was  represented  as  liaviny 
broken  his  arm,  brought  the  garrison  out,  when  O'Doherty 
took  possession.  The  lesson  of  the  kidnapping  of  Red 
Hugh  O'Donnell  at  Rathmullen,  by  the  English  merchant- 
pirate  "  black  hatched,  deceptive",  had  been  learned  and 
carried  into  practice  on  this  occasion  by  the  native  Irish. 

But  let  us  tell  in  Hart's  own  words  about  "  the  inhuman 
massacre  of  the   garrison",  that  took  place,  according  to 

1  Calendar  S.  P.,  pp.  503-5      1606-1G08. 


542  INIS-OWEN   AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Cox  and  all  his  latest  reproducers.  Here  is  what  Harte 
says:  — "  And  no  sooner  were  they  out  of  the  door  but 
they  were  taken,  and  the  house  immediately  entered,  and 
the  rest  that  were  lodged  without  were  taken  in  their 
beds ;  and  when  he  [O'Doherty],  had  thus  possessed  the 
house,  he  sent  for  him  [HarteJ,  and  told  him  they  should 
have  no  harm  ;  but  they  were  put  into  the  cellar  and  there 
locked  in  and  kept  until  that  Friday  following,  at  which 
time  O'Doherty  came  from  the  Berry,  and  told  him  that 
now  he  should  see  it  was  not  blood  that  he  sought  for ; 
for  that  he  had  brought  down  all  those  people  whom  he 
had  taken  in  the  house,  with  Lieutenant  Baker,  yielded 
by  composition,  and  some  others  whom  he  had  otherwise 
taken,  and  there  meant  to  set  them  over  the  water  to  go 
to  Colrane,  telling  him  that  if  he  listed  he  should  go,  and 
his  wife  and  children  with  him,  along  with  the  rest,  which 
he  chose  rather  to  do  than  lie  in  that  miserable  calamity. 
His  infant  son,  whom  he  had  left  at  Boncranoche 
[Buncranagh]  the  more  to  terrify  his  woful  mother,  he 
[O'Doherty]  had  sent  to  them  two  days  before  ;  and  he 
told  him  that  the  gunner,  with  the  rest  of  the  warders 
whom  he  had  taken,  had  run  to  the  Lifford,  whilst  he 
[O'Doherty]  and  his  company  were  busy  in  their  sur- 
prizing at  Derry,  which  he  since  hears  is  true.  This  is 
the  just  sum  of  his  account,  of  which  he  begs  his  Lord- 
ship's [Chichestcr]  charitable  censure.  Disclaims  all 
treasonable  intents,  and  leaves  all  to  his  Lordships  de- 
cision, professing  his  readiness  to  risk  his  life  in  regaining 

the  place. 

(Signed)     HEN.   HAUTE".' 

May,  1608. 
»  Calendar.    S.  P.,  Ireland,  p.  505.    1GOG-1C08. 


O'DOHEETY'S  EEVOLT  543 

Captain  Henry  Hart  was  captain  of  Culmore  Fort  when 
it  was  taken  by  O'Doherty,  as  lie  has  above  described,  but 
neither  Chichcster  or  Hart  says  a  word  of  the  Massacre? 
"This  undertaker,1  so  well  known  in  connection  with  Sir 
Cahir  O'Doherty's  revolt,  [Henry]  Hart  belonged  to  a 
Roman  Catholic  family  in  London,  but  he  appears  to  have 
changed  his  creed  on  entering  the  English  service  in 
Ireland.  In  Feb.  1604-5  he  was  made  Constable  of  Cul- 
more Castle  and  Fort,  with  300  acres  of  land  adjoining. 
This  was  reserved  out  of  O'Doherty's  lands".2  The  whole 
note  by  Rev.  Geo.  Hill  is  instructive. 

LIEUTENANT  BAKER'S  REPORT. 

Having  disposed  of  the  hitherto  assumed  "massacre  of 
Culmore",  let  us  examine  the  report  of  the  like  "mas- 
sacre at  the  taking  of  Berry". — Lieutenant  John  Barker, 
who  appears  to  have  been  the  only  soldierly  person  left 
out  of  the  wThole  company  of  foot  that  Pawlett  had  in 
the  whole  defense,  says:  "The  fort  of  Culmore  being 
taken  by  Sir  Cahir  O'Doherty,  Knt.,  Phelime  Reaugh 
McDaved,  Donnell  og  McCalley  [MacAllin  or  Campbell], 
with  the  O'Gallaghers  of  Tirconnell,  being  about  four 
score  and  ten  [i)0],  or  thereabouts,  marched  on  and  came 
to  the  City  of  Derrie  on  the  next  day  by  two  of  the 
clock  in  the  morning,  and  there  at  the  bog  side,  divided 

1  The  grant  be  [Hart]  afterwards   obtained  was  1,000  acres  of  Bally- 
nasse,  Dromnative,    Ballyconnell,    Ardbegg,   Ardmore,    Magherarorty, 
Gortcorkery  and  Inisboffin,  [most  of  these  lands  have  been  rather  promi- 
nently  known  in  late  years  as  the  Olphert  Estate,  Co.  Donegal.] 

2  See  Note  230,  Uart,  p.  325,  Plantation  of  Ulster,  by  Rev.  Geo.  Hill, 
Belfast,  1877. 


544  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

themselves  into  two  bodies  [there  does  not  appear  much 
surprising  in  this].  "The  one  where  Sir  Cahir  was  to 
assault  the  nether  fort  [that  was  the  fort  near  the  N. 
E.  angle  of  present  City  wall],  where  the  storehouse  was 
and  the  other,  conducted  by  Phelime  [Reaagh  McDaved] 
entered  on  the  backside  of  the  governor's  house,  and  came 
into  the  court  and  broke  open  the  doors  [where  was  the 
guard  ?]  Whereat  Sir  George  Powlet,  governor  of  the  place 
being  somewhat  dark,  escaped  through  the  company  to 
ancient  Corbet's  house,  where  within  short  space  he  was 
killed  by  the  said  Phelim.  Lieutenant  Gordon,  lying  in 
his  chamber  within  the  higher  fort,  and  hearing  the  shot 
[that  killed  the  governor],  issued  forth,  naked  upon  the 
rampier  [rampart]  towards  the  court  of  guard  [perhaps  the 
guard,  like  their  warlike  governor  had  taken  also  to  their 
valiant  heels],  with  his  rapier  and  dagger,  where,  with 
one  soldier  in  his  company,  he  set  upon  the  enemy  and 
killed  two  of  them,  and  encouraged  the  soldiers  to  stand 
to  it  and  fight  for  their  lives ;  but  the  enemy  being  far 
more  in  number  [why  !  they  are  stated  by  this  Lieutenant 
Baker  himself,  to  have  been  about  90  in  all],  they  rushed 
on  him  killed  him  and  the  soldier  also  [where  were  the 
other  soldiers  he  had  asked,  to  stand  and  fight  for  their 
lives  ?  did  they  run  for  their  Lives  ?]. 

"Ancient  Corbet  meeting  with  Phelime  Eeaugh  within 
the  higher  fort,  fought  with  and  wounded  him  in  the  head, 
and  by  all  likelihood  had  killed  him,  if  one  of  the  [enemy] 
had  not  come  behind  him  and  cut  off  his  leg,  and  so  he 
was  killed  by  the  enemy:— Thus  by  the  death  of  the 
governor  (1),  the  lieutenant,  ancient  (I),  two  soldiers  (2) 
and  two  of  the  townsmen  (2), — G,  and  (2)  of  the  enemy, 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT*  545 

the  upper  fort  wag  taken  and  presently  burnt,  Sir  Cahir 
with  the  other  half  assaulted  the  nether  fort,  and  finding  the 
watchman  asleep,  entered  without  resistance,  killed  Mr. 
Harris,  under-sheriff  of  Dunegall,  and  hurt  one  more". 
This  appears  to  be  the  sum  and  substance  of  the  alleged  mas- 
sacre, as  given  by  Cox  and  his  copyists,  both  forts  taken 
with  watchmen  asleep,  and  yet  no  massacre  !  Even  the 
sleeping  watchmen  were  not  killed  by  the  party  led  only  by 
Cahir  "  One  sub-sheriff,  and  one  other  hurt,  were 
apparently  all  who  fell  during  the  assault  on  the  "  nether 
fort  and  storehouse".  But  perhaps  the  massacre  has 
been  kept  for  the  last  scene.  [Lieutenant  Baker  speaks 
/or  himself],  he  continues  "  Lieutenant  Baker  [himself] 
being  there  present  in  the  city,  gathered  together  some 
sixteen  of  the  town,  one  of  the  sheriffs,  and  four  soldiers, 
the  townsmen  knowing  both  the  forts  to  be  taken,  and 
the  enemy  to  be  master  thereof,  run,  some  one  way, 
and  some  another"  [Baker  with  his  gathering  of  22, 
valiantly]  "  went  towards  the  nether  fort,  resolved  to  enter 
and  retake  the  same,  and  in  the  gate  was  wounded  by  Sir 
Cahir  with  a  pike  in  the  arm,  and  the  sheriff  was  shot  in  the 
shoulder,  whereat  the  said  lieutenant  looking  back  on  [his] 
company  and  encouraging  them  to  stand  to  it,  and  seeing 
but  four  or  five  left"  [they  were  a  gallant  set  of  Falstaffs] 
and  the  enemy  strong,  retired  into  the  town  [leaving  the 
nether  fort  unre  taken],  and  there  gathered  together  six  or 
seven  score  men,  women  and  children  [whither  had  the 
soldiers  and  guard  run]  ?  "  and  manned  the  house  of  Sheriff 
Babington,  and  kept  the  same ;  as  likewise  manned  the 
house  of  the  Lord  Bishop  of  Derrie  "  [Montgomery]"  with 
his  own  men  and  two  or  three  soldiers ;  there  were  some 

69 


AND 

fighting  bishops  in  these  days,']  "  Baker  taking  charge  of  th« 
Bishop's  wife  and  the  other  gentlewomen,  and  the  two 
houses  were  kept  until  the  next  day  at  noon"  [i.  e.,  during 
ten  hours  from  the  commencement  of  the  attack]  "  in  which 
time  the  ememy  confessed  they  had  lost  8,  and  had  of  woun- 
ded  7,  [Baker  says  he  only  lost  1  in  Bishop's  house  and  1 
wounded.]  "  But  the  enemy  being  strong  and  increasing, 
and  he  having  many  with  him,  and  without  victuals  or  am- 
munition, and  seeing  a  piece  [of  ordnance]  brought  from 
Culmore,  and  ready  mounted  to  batter  the  houses  after  much 
parley  to  and  fro,  he,  Baker,  yielded  .upon  condition  that 
every  man  should  depart  with  his  sword  and  cloths,  and  like- 
wise all  women  and  children  with  their  cloths,  "  (except  m 
Mrs.  Susan  Montgomery)1,  the  Lord  Bishop's  wife,  who  is 
kept  prisoner  [at  Beart  Castle,  where  Cahir  O'Doherty'sown 
wife  was  residing  at  the  time],  the  remainder  being  at  liberty 
to  go  to  such  place  as  [he]  Lieutenant  Baker  should  deem 
most  fit  for  the  safety  of  himself  and  company2.  And  this 
is  as  much  as  the  said  Lieutenant  can  say  touching  the  sur- 
prizing of  the  said  city,  and  such  accidents  as  fell  out 
during  the  said  two  days,  and  in  witness  to  the  truth  he  has 
unto  this  present  relation  set  his  hand  the  3rd  May, 
1608". 

signed:  JOHN  BAKER, 

1  It  has  been  stated  that  this  prisoner  was  detained  by  the  advice  of 
Neal  Garve  O'Donnell,  to  be  a  set  off  on  his  account  for  his  son  who  was 
then  kept  in  Dublin  as  a  hostage. 

*  For  all  this  service,  John  Baker  obtained  a  lease  of  Derrychrine 
in  Co.  Cavan,  for  the  lives  of  himself,  his  wife  and  son,  on  1st  June, 
1610.  [Chichester  took  care  not  to  reward  him  out  of  his  own  grants.] 
— Hilt1*  Plantation,  p.  463. 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  547 

We  have  now  concluded  the  vindication  of  the  memory 
of  the  last  Chieftains  of  Inis-Owen  from  the  vile  accusa- 
tions given  in  whole  pages  of  historical  untruths,  by 
which  their  name  and  motives  have  been  heretofore 
grossly  assailed  and  misrepresented.  We  have  shewn 
from  the  State  papers  given  under  the  hand  of  Captain 
Henry  Harte,  and  Lieutenant  Baker,1  that  the  taking  of 
Culmore  Fort,  and  the  capture  of  the  Forts  and  the 
city  of  Derrie,  were  effected  without  any  "massacre," 
though  at  both  places  the  people  therein  were  at  the 
complete  mercy  of  the  young  Chieftain  of  Inis-Owen 
smarting  under  a  personal  insult,  exasperating  to  the  spirit 
of  a  young  man,  then  only  in  the  24th  year  of  his  age, 
he  treated  the  prisoners  taken  at  both  places  as  "  prisoners 
of  war",  and  gave  them  their  freedom  in  accordance  with 
all  the  usages  of  war.  Like  all  unsuccessful  warriors, 
as  O'Donovan  puts  it,  "  his  action  [whether  rash  or  me- 
ditated does  not  now  signify,  but  Docwra  says:  . '', The 
taking  of  the  lands  of  the  Island  of  Inch  from  O'Doherty 
was  a  direct  breach  of  promise  and  covenant,  both  o.J,kis 
[Docwra' s]  own,  of  the  State,  and  of  Chic/Mster"s]*  deprived 
himself  of  life,  and  his  race  of  property."3' 

MARGARET    O'DOHERTr. 

As  a  contrast  to  the  way  Cahir  O'Doherty  treated  the 
prisoners  he  took  at  Culmore  and  Derry,  we  would  re- 
commend our  headers  to  examine  Chichester  and  Davis 

1  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  224,  92  I.  and  II.  and  Cal.  S.P.  pp.  603—507 
James  /.,  160S. 

2  Docwra's  Narration,  p.  282,  4/i'sce/.  C.S. 

3  Antiq.,  Parish  of  Templemore,  by.O'Donoran,  p,  236  Dublin,     1837- 


548  INIS-OWEKT  AND  TIROONNELL. 

mode  of  dealing  with  the  O'Hanlons  of  Orier,  whose  son, 
Oghie  Og  was  husband  to  Margaret,  sister  to  Cahir 
O'Doherty.  Chichester  and  Davis  confiscated  the  Barony 
of  Orier,  because  the  father,  Sir  Oghie  had  given  his  son 
shelter  during  a  portion  of  the  time  O'Doherty  was  in  revolt. 
"  Chichester  held  the  father  accountable  but  magnanimously 

?]  proposed  to  grant  him  a  pension  of  £80  a  year  in  lieu 
of  his  barony  of  Orior".  But  Sir  Oghie  did  not  live  to  enjoy 
that  magnificent  tribute  even  for  a  single  year.  His  son, 
Oghie  Og's  life  was  spared,  but  he  was  pressed  to  Sweden 
to  assist  in  fighting  the  battles  of  Gustavus  Adolphus  while 
his  wife,  Margaret  O'Doherty  was  stripped  in  the  woods  by 
soldiers  in  the  Government  service,  and  perished  there,  after 
having  given  birth  to  a  child".1  The  liberty  and  justice 
loving  astrologer,  Davit  1  in  his  letter  to  Salisbury,  describing 
how  "seven  elevens  and  eleven  sevens  were  an  ominous 
number",  says: — Chichester  sent  out  several  companies  .  . 

.  .  to  pursue  them  [the  O'Hanlon's].  One  of  the  com- 
panies fell  upon  them  in  the  woods,  killed  some  of  them". 

"Among  the  rest  Oghy  O'Hanlon's  wife  was 

found  alone  by  an  Irish  soldier,  who  knew  her  not ;  and 
being  stripped  of  her  apparel,  she  was  left  in  the  woods, 
and  she  died  next  day  of  cold  and  famine,  being  lately  de- 
livered of  a  child".  2  Sir  Thomas  Ridgeway  (Treasurer 
to  Salisbury),  says:  —  "His  Lordship  [Chichester]  was  in- 
formed that  some  of  their  men  had  got  Oghie's  wife 

1  This  occurred  after  Margaret  O'Doherty's  escape,  taking  with  her,  as 
we  believe,  the  daughter  and  only  child  of  her  brother  Cahir,  from  the 

custody  of  the  sheriff  of  Dublin  (Sir  John  Drumgoole) See  also 

/.  unit  T.  (1st  series)  The  Plantation  in  Ulster,  p.  64,  by  llev.  Geo.  Hill, 
Belfast,  1877. 

"  C.  S.  P.  Ireland,  p.  15,  1608-1610. 


O'DOHERTY'S  REVOLT.  '  549 

(O'Doherty's  sister)  and  O'Dohevty's  base  brother  /  stripped 
them,  and  so  let  them  go.'  The  sense  of  humanity  des- 
cribed by  Davis  and  Kidgeway  in  their  report  to  Salis- 
bury, reflects  creditably  upon  these  civilizing  (?)  agents 
of  James  I.  and  the  Plantation. 

The  Rev.  George  Hill  scornfully  rejects  the  craft  dis- 
played by  Davis,  who  would  shield  his  countrymen  from 
this  permanent  disgrace  by  fastening  it  on  the  Irish.  Mr. 
Hill  in  a  note  attached  to  this  assertion  of  'avis  that  credit- 
ably redounds  to  his  honour,  says:  —  "This  cruel  and  das- 
tardly act  is  ascribed  to  an  Irish  soldier.  It  is  not  credible, 
however,  that  the  wife  of  aa  ^risn  leader  would  have  suffered 
the  indignity  mentioned,  from  her  countrymen, --without 
making  known  her  name  and  position  as  a  means  of  protect- 
ing herself  against  outrage."2 

We  give  below  a  rough  pen  and  ink  sketch  of  the  only 
visible  material  memento,  of  Seaan  Og  O'Doherty,  the 
last  chieftain  of  Inis-Owen,  who  occupied  the  Castle  of 
Elagh-beg,  which  originally  "  consisted  of  a  lofty  square 
Keep,  with  semi-circular  towers  projecting  from  two 
of  the  angles,  of  Elagh  Castle,,  [which  was  similar  to  those 
of  Beart  and  Inch],  but  little  more  than  a  portion  of  one 
of  the  semi-circular  towers  now  remains;  the  greater 
part  having  been  used  as  building  materials  in  the  adjacent 
village  [and  houses]."3 

These  crumbling  ruins  will  serve  to  remind  the  ob- 
eerver,  as  this  record  will  the  reader,  that,  they  once  were 

»  S.  P.  Ireland,  vol.  224,  160,  and  S.  P.  Ireland,  p.  613. 
'  Hill's  Plantation  of  Ulster,  p,  65. 

*  Antiquities,  Parish  oj  Temylemore,  by  John  O'Donovan,  LL.D.,  p. 
236,  Dublin,  1837. 


550 


INIS  OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 


part  of  the  walls  that  surrounded  the  home  of  the  proud 
chieftains  of  Inis-owen,  who  "  sleep  the  sleep"  in  un- 
known, uninscribed,  and  forgotten  graves,  but  whose 
name  and  fame  shall  long  outlive  the  "alabaster  monu- 
ment" that  adorns  the  Church  of  St.  Nicholas,  Carrick- 
fergus,  erected  to  the  memory  of  Chichester!  We  ask 
any  of  our  readers  who,  with  the  writer,  believe  in  the 
efficacy  of  an  oratio  pro  animis,  to  remember  all  who  have 
fallen  in  the  conflicts  referred  to  herein,  whether  friend 
or  foe,  and  say  with  us  Bequiescant  in  Pace.  Amen.1  . 


Ruins  (now  standing)  of  the  Castle  of  ELAQH-BEO. 


1  The  editors  of  C.  S.  P.,  Ireland,  1COS-1G10,  state  in  preface  thereto, 
p.  1.  that  "  O'Doherty  was  "  slain  during  the  battle  by  some  of  his  own 
men",  and  they  give  Calendar,  Vol  II.,  p.  607,  as  reference][for  this 
statement.  We  can  only  say  no  such  proof  exists.  It  is  a  vile'slander. 

W.  J.  D, 


ADDITIONAL. 
XXXIII. 

LOUVAIN.1 

With  a  view  of  being  able  to  acquaint  our  readers  if  the 
monumental  slab  among  Les  pierres   tumulaires  was  still 
preserved  in  the  Convent  of  the    "  Freres  de  la  Charitie, 
we  made  a  personal  visit  to  Leuven.    There,  through  the 
kindness  of  the  "Brothers  of  Chanty,"  who  now  occupy 
the  Convent  of  the  Irish  Franciscan  Fathers  of  S.  Anthonii 
de  Padua,  we  were  recompensed  for  our  trouble   by  being 
shown  through  the  entire  premises  by  a  brother  deputed 
for  the  express  purpose,  and  by  his  guidance  we  were  able 
to  tread  the  "corridors  and  cloisters"  once  occupied  by  so 
many  distinguished  Irishmen  of  our  kith  and  kin,  who 
formerly  belonged  to  Inis-Owen  and  Tirconnell  and  who 
had  during   some  of  the  darkest   days   of   our  country's 
history,   found  therein   refuge   and    an  asylum.      During 
their  life   there,  they   continued  with  all   their   brilliant 
intellect  to  place  an  everlasting  halo  around  the  venerable 
structure    wherein  they  worked  in  their  solitude  for  the 
greater  honour  and  glory  of  God,  and  the  upholding  of 
the  fame  of  their  country,  to  her  heritage  of  civilization 
and  literature.     Here,  by  their  labours  they  raised  an  im- 
perishable monument  to  their  country  and  race  !     "  Ah, 
Louvain,  Louvain,   Ireland  has   been   a   sadly   backward 
debtor  to  thee'V 

1  See  p.  53,  ante. 
'p.  64  ante. 


552  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIEOONNELL. 

We  shall  only  deal  with  what  was  principally  the  object 
of  our  visit ;  a  Flemish  Brother  who  guided  us  through  the 
Church  of  the  Convent,  which  projects  at  right  angles  from 
the  principal  corridor,  or  hall,  on  entering  within  the 
precincts  of  the  convent.  Having  asked  to  be  shown  any 
monumental  slabs  existing  at  present,  within  the  sacred 
edifice,  the  brother  removed  from  the  wall  of  the  church 
on  the  left  hand  side  of  the  altar,  a  picture  that  is  placed 
thereon,  and  when  it  was  removed  we  were  able  to  see 
inserted  in  the  wall,  the  monumental  slab  described  by 
Samuel  Henry  Bindon,  as  having  been  placed  over  the  re- 
mains of  Fr.  Florence  Conry.1  We  vainly  sought  within  the 
church  the  slab  which  was  the  chief  object  of  our  search,  in 
the  place  where  the  remains  of  Lady  Rosa  O'Doherty  lie 
interred,  i.e.,  "  before  the  altar  of  the  chapel".1  Whilst  our 
learned  companion  was  engaged  reading  the  inscription,  to 
Fr.  Flor.  we  were  preparing  to  depart  into  the  grounds, 
when  we  observed  a  slab  let  into  the  right  hand  wall  of 
the  principal  hall  or  corridor,  modestly  protected  from 
observation  by  a  statue  of  the  Virgin  Mary.  On  a  closer 
examination  and  a  slight  removal  of  the  statue,  we  were 
rewarded  by  seeing  the  slab  of  dark  limestone  marble  of 
5  feet  x  3  feet,  set  into  and  flush  with  the  plastering  of  the 
wall  which  we  at  once  recognized  by  the  cut  and  sunken  in- 
scription, that  here  was  preserved  the  monumental  slab  we 
sought,  and  that  had  been  at  first  placed  over  the  remains 
of  his  mother,  Lady  Rosa  O'Doherty,  by  her  first-born  son 
Hugh  O'Donneil. 

This  dark   marble  slab  that  had  been  placed  over  the 

Historical  Works  of  Dr.  French,  edited  by  Bindon,  vol.  1,  p.  Iviii. 
*  p.  56,  ante. 


LOUVAIN.  553 

remains  of  Rosa  O'Doherty  by  her  son,  Hugh  O'Donnell, 
is  one  of  the  few  "pierres  tumulaires"  once  forming  part  of 
the  floor  of  the  church  which  have  been  preserved.  It 
measures  five  feet  in  length,  by  three  feet  in  breadth, 
and  is  reverently  preserved  and  inserted  into  the  wall  of 
the  hall,  at  a  distance  of  18  feet  from  the  entrance  door, 
opposite  the  doorway  opening  from  the  enclosed  hall  into 
the  church,  and  in  view  of  the  altar  when  the  doors  are 
opened ;  where,  "awaiting  the  resurrection",  within  the  sa- 
cred inlcosure  of  that  historical  building  lie  the  honoured  re- 
mains of  Lady  Rose  O'Doherty,  among  the  dust  of  illustrious 
compatriots,  lay  and  cleric.  Though  her  death  took  place 
in  Brussels,  her  son,  Hugh  O'Donnell  had  the  slab  placed 
over  her  remains  in  the  chapel  of  the  College  of  Irish 
Franciscans  in  Lou  vain.  If  Lady  Rosa  O'Doherty '3  remains 
were  conveyed  directly  for  interment  to  Louvain,  at  the  date 
of  her  death  in  1660,  the  honoured  place  of  sepulture  which 
they  received,  would  doubtless  be  due  to  the  presence  at  the 
time  in  S.  Antony's  de  Padua  of  two  Inis-Owen  celebrities, 
i.e.  Father  John  Colgan,  and  her  kinsman  Father  Bonaventu- 
ra  O'Doherty.  Whether  Colgan's  "Historical  Fragment"1 
waa  written  some  time  previous,  or  most  probably  at  the  time 
of  Rosa  O'Doherty 's  death,  showing  the  reason  for  her 
being  allowed  sepulture  in  S.  A.  de  Padua.  It  is  apparent 
that  it  was  from  the  facts  related  in  this  "  Fragment  of  His- 
tory," that  the  Latin  inscription  on  the  monumental  slab 
was  prepared.  Our  duty  has  now  been  completed,  with 
thanks  to  our  learned  companion,  who  willingly  diverged 
from  a  previously  arranged  route  to  enable  us  to  fulfil  a 


See  p.  380-881,  antt. 

70 


554 


INJS-OWEN  AND  TIRCOJfNELL. 


mission,  and  a  duty  devolving  upon  the  Author,  that  he 
should  be  able  to  clearly  indicate  the  hoped  for  preservation 
or  otherwise  of  the  pierre  tumulaire  of  the  wife  of  Owen  Roe 
O'Neill— the  Lady  Rosa  O'Doherty. 

"We  shall  ask  our  readers  if  any  of  them  should  ever  visit 
Louvain,  to  go  to  the  College  of  St.  Anthony  of  Padua,  and 
remember  in  their  orisons,  the  buried  exiles  of  their  nation, 
and  with  them  that  victim  of  a  yet  sadder  fate,  Margaret, 
the  noble  sister  of  Lady  Rosa  O'Doherty. 


[COLLEGIUM  ST.  ANTONII  DK  PADUA,  FBERES  DE  CHAKITE,  LOUVAIN.] 


We  arc  enabled  to  present  our  readers  with  a  rough  pen 
and  ink  sketch  made  at  the  time  of  our  visit,  as  vre 
could  not  find  any  among  the  engravings  of  Louvain 
Monumental,  shewing  the  outlines  of  St.  Anthony's 
College.  And  our  time  did  not  permit  of  being  able  to  pro- 
cure a  photograph,  therefore,  for  the  defects  of  our  sketch, 
TTC  alone  are  responsible. — The  view  is  taken  from  the 


LOUTAIN.  555 

garden,  the  building  is  about  140  feet  in  length,  by  about 
30  feet  in  width,  with  a  pitched  roof  standiug  about  12 
feet  high  over  the  walls  of  the  superstructure. 

The  fagade  facing  the  court  or  enclosure,  presents  a 
similar  appearance  to  that  shewn  here,  the  walls  of  the 
building  from  the  level  of  the  garden  are  about  22  feet  in 
height. — The  printing  press  so  active  in  Colgan's  time  had 
been  placed  in  the  top  part  of  the  building,  away  from  the 
general  work  of  the  college. — There,  whilst  Ireland  was 
manacled  by  the  penal  laws,  imposing  ignorance  at  home, 
her  faithful  sons  preserved,  composed,  and  published  the 
Acts  of  the  Saints  of  Ireland,  and  many  another  noble 
monument  of  erudition  and  patriotism. 

The  chapel  of  the  college  is  about  50  feet  in  length,  by 
30  feet  in  width,  every  inch  of  which  is  sacred  to  the 
memory  of  Irishmen,  who,  exiles  from  tfyeir  country,  have 
left  imperishable  names,  and  whose  dust  ar^er  two  centuries 
is  protected  within  the  venerable  walls  of  St.  Anthony  de 
Padua,  ("  Convent  of  the  Brothers  of  Chanty")  Louvain. 

We  are  indebted  to  Samuel  Henry  Bindon  (one  of  the 
secretaries  of  the  Celtic  Athenaeum,  founded  in  Dublin 
in  December,  1845),  for  the  production  of  the  Historical 
Works  of  the  Right  Rev.  Nicholas  French,  D.D.,  as  also 
for  the  chapters  on  the  Irish  Colleges  of  Louvain,  which  he 
has  prefixed  to  the  works  of  Dr.  French,  and  published  as 
a  volume  of  the  Library  of  Ireland.  l  This  volume  of 
Bindon's  is  the  only  memorial  to  remind  us  "  that  Irish- 
men once2  peopled"  the  venerable  walls  of  the  Convent 
of  the  Frhes  de  Charitie,  Leuven. 

1  Hist.  Works  of  Dr.  Frtncb,  Dublin,  184G. 
*  See  p.  66,  4n(e. 


556  IKIS-OWE1T   AND  TRICONNELL. 

NECROLOGY  OP  S.    A.   DE  PADUA. 

The  original  Manuscript  mentioned  by  Bindon,1  he 
describes  as  "  the  obituary  of  the  Irish  College  of  S.  A.  de 
Padua,  at  Louvain,  from  1614,  to  the  year  1716".  Having 
made  (by  the  kind  permission  of  M.  Overlaux,  Director  of 
the  Bibliotheque  Royale  Bruxelles,)  a  transcript  of  the  en- 
tire manuscript,  we  here  make  a  few  extracts,  that  may 
serve  to  elucidate  the  references  already  made  by  Bindon. 

AN  HISTORIC  MANUSCRIPT. 

The  manuscript  is  on  42  feuillets,  and  is  paged  up  to  13 
doubled  pp.,  one  to  each  month,  10  fol.  being  blank,  on  the 
cover  of  the  calf  binding,  which  is  plainly  bound  in  petit 
folio,  in  paper  boards  covered  with  calf,  the  back  of  the 
binding  is  divided  into  six  spaces,  each  stamped  "with  a 
diamond  shaped  floriated  gilt  ornament,  with  a  tooled  line 
all  about  the  top,  bottom,  and  side  margins  of  the  binding. 
There  is  a  name  written  on  the  back  of  the  binding  which 
we  believe  to  be  the  name  of  the  binder,  or  the  person 
who  caused  the  binding  to  be  done.  The  result  ot  our 
attempt  at  decipherment  is  as  follows : — 

"Francis  0.  Gallin,  frater  me  fecit,  etc."* 

The  paper  of  this  historic  manuscript  is  strong  and  good, 
and  has  eight  water  lines  marking  each  folio,  each  leaf  has 
attached  finger  slips,  pasted  so  as  to  be  available  for  writing 
thereon  the  month  for  reference.  This  precaution  was  no 
doubt  intended  to  preserve  the  leaves  from  being  torn  or 
frayed  by  opening.  On  the  fly-leaf  of  the  Ms.  the  title  is 

Proceedinyi  R.  L  A.,  May  24th,  1847,  No.  67,  p.  12. 
•  f  Brother  Francis  O'Gallin  is  the  name  of  the  binder.}     W.  J.  D. 


LOUVA1N.  557 

written  in  a  good  firm  hand,  but  one  apparently  accustomed 
to  write  much  in  the  Latin  language,  i.e.     "  Collegii  Sancte 
Antonij  de  Padua  Frum.  Minor :  Hibern : 
Requiescant  in  Pace.     Amen. 

L.  J.  C.     Amen. 

Under  the  above  is  written  in  a  different  hand,  "  Colleg. 
Leir.  Fr.  French  has  a  philosophy  book  and  a  musick  book 
belonging  to  this  Cleionber"  [Cloister?]1 

There  is  also  written,  evidently  by  an  inexperienced 
person  [perhaps  a  student]  after  the  Ms.  had  been  bound 
the  following  note — "I  am  your  most  hble.  and  obedient 
servant  yours  most  affectionately 

Ano  1737". 

And  by  the  same  hand :  — "  Demand  nothing  contrary  to 
reason". 

On  the  back  of  the  fly-leaf  appears  written,  "  Augus'" 
in  Psalmos. 

SaT :  de  amore  Dei, 
Granatensis  Ecclesi  rhetorica 
Drexelis  Tribunal  X1',  et 

Trismegistrus, 
Didai  [us]  Stella  de  med", 

Arcana  Politrea, 
Ejustola  de  car — tes,  et 
Jascisq  [us]  divine  amoris, 
Shada  de  bello  belgrio". 

Following  the  above,  there  are  three  folios  of  the  Ms. 
blank,  and  the  Obituary  begins  on  p.  1  headed :  — 

1  We  believe  this  refers  to  the  "  Collegium  Pastorale  Hibernorum", 
Louvain,  of  which  Dr.  French  was  botl^  student  and  president.  Irish 
Coll.,  by  Bindon,  p.  xxvii. 


558  INIS-OWEN   AND  TIBCONNEL1, 

"  Januarius". 
Anno 
1615        Die  15  obijt  F.  Edwardus  Flemingus 

clericus  S.  Theol.  Studiosus 

mira  innocentia  conspicuus. 

1653  Die  Vigessima  nona  obijt  P.  F. 
Franciscua  Wardaeus  Sacra  Theol. 
Lector  Actualis. 

1654  Die  30  Januarii  hie  obiit  P.  F.  Franciscus  Tallonus 
Sacerdos  Hogpes. 

„          Obit  P.  F.  Augustinus  Eganus  S.T.L.  emeritus 
unus  erat  ex  iis  qui  laborabant  circa 
Dictionarium  Hibernicum. 

1658        Die  15  obiit  R.  A.  P.  JOANNES  COLGANUS,  S. 
Theol.  Lector  Jubilatus,  olim  Collegiorum 
Commissarius.     Scriptor  indefesus  in  Colligendis 
illustrandis  et  edentis  vitis  Sanctorum  Hiberniae. 


[FAC-SIMILE  OF  JOHN  COLOAN'S  SIGNATURE'.] 
[Colgan's  Works  are  his  imperishable  monument.  W.  J.  D. 
1  National  MSS.  of  Ireland,  by  John  T,  Gilbert. 


OBITUARY,  COLL.  8.  A.  DE  PADUA,  LOUVATN.   519 

1673        Die  la  obiit  P.  Franciscus  Feganus,  Guardianus 

actualis  vir  valde  proficuus  huic 

Domicilio. 
1681        Die  22  ex  apoplexia  obiit  P.  F.  ANTONIUS 

WARDAEUS  Sacerdos,  pius  ac  devotus,  prospes. 
1690         Die  6  obiit  hie  Fr.  Dominicus  Lynch  clericus. 
1697        Die  10  obiit  hie  F.  Joannes  Smedts  Lovanieneis 

Laicus. 
1700        Die  20  obiit  hie  P.  Mathaeus  Verou  Galviensis 

hie  olim  raagister  novitiorum,  deinde  Vicarius, 

ac  tandem  Praesis. 
1704        Die  1  a  obiit  apud  nos,  quibus  per  notabile  tempus 

cohabitavit,  Illmus  ac  Rmnus  D.  F.  Dominicus 

de  Burgo  ex  ordine  S.  Dominici  Epus  Elphinen- 

sis  sepultus  uti  ordinavit,  in  nostra  Ecclesia. 
fit  is  this  Bishop  of  Elphin,  whose  monument  was  before 
the   altar,    and   "close   to   the   end"   of   which,    lay   the 
slab  to  Kosa  O'Doherty1.     W.  J.    D.] 
1722         Die  I     obiit  in  Domo  in  aterna  in  hac  Civitate 

Fr.  Marfmis  Laxus  Chirugus  Optimus. 
f  This  last  entry  is  written  by  a  different  hand  and  ink  to 
the  preceding  entries,  but  in  a  hand  accustomed  to  writing, 
though  feeble.    W.  J.  D.] 
1727         Die    6   obiit    P.     esr.     JOSEPHUS    O'DoNELL. 

Sacerdos  pius. 

[This  last  entry  which  is  the  last  made  under  the  month 
of  January,  is  in  a  different  hand,  and  also  differs  from  the 
entry  at  1722.  W.  J.  D.~] 


1  Irish  Colleges  of  Louvaiti,  by  S.  H.  Bindon,  p.  liz. 


560  INI3-OWEN  AND  TIBCONNELL, 

"Februarius". 

1632  Die  5  obiit  hie  R.  P.  F.  Er>MUNDUS  CAINA 
[McKenna],  Missionis  Scoticae  Praefectus  valde 
fructuosua  in  qu£  per  annos  30  desudavit ;  Car- 
cerces  etiam  diuturnos  et  vincula  fortiter  per 
pessus  fidei  propagandae  causa. 
[Father  Edmund  McKenna  wrote  the  "  Description  of 

the  Island  of  Sanda",  noticed  by  the  late   Dr.  Reeves, 

U.  J.  A.— see  ante  p.  77]. 

1667  Die  7  obiit  hie  P.  Fr.  Joannes  Blake  Successive 
magister  novitorium,  Vicarius,  Praeses,  in  omni- 
bus exemplaris  et  sedules. 

1681  Die  1*  hie  obiit  F.  JOANNES  CUEBIN  novitius 
Lfticus. 

1681  Die  30  hie  obiit  P.  F.  Ludovicus  Geraldinus  Sue- 
cessive  Sacra  Theol,  Lector,  Praeses,  Guardianus, 
Visitator,  Confessarius  ver6  stablis  ac  indefessus. 

1682  Die  23  obiit  in  Conventu  Bruxellensi  (quo  hos- 
pes   accesserat),  ipse  natione  Bruxellensis,  sed 
hujus  Collegii  alumnus,  et  in  eo  laboriosus  ac 
fidelis  coquus  F.  Egidius  Gallot  Laicus. 

1685  Die  12  hie  pie  obiit  P.  F.  FEANCISCUS  DUFFY 
magister  novitiorum  ac  Juvenum. 

1699  Obiit  ex  apoplexia  qua  erat  Subito  correptus  duan 
erat  accintus  ad  Sanctam  peregrinationem  ad 
raontem  acutum  Fr.  Didacus  Gisberti  Holandus, 
Laicus,  hujus  Collegii  Alumnus  qui  bisvisitavit 
terrain  Sanctam.  ibi  que  per  singulas  vices  per 
annoi  habitavh. 


LOUVAIN.  561 

Anno 

1712        Die  17  hie  pie  defunctus  est  Frater  DIDACUS 

CRADOGUE  Hibernus  Laicus. 
1712        Die  27  Februarii  hie  pie  obiit  Fr.  Jacobus  Van 

Harsell  Lovaniensis,  Laicus  arte  tutor. 
[These  entries  have  been  all  made  by  the  same  writer 
who  commenced  the  copy  of  the  Obituary,  now  in  the 
Royale,  Bruxelles.    W.  J.   D.] 


"Martius". 

Anno 

1631        Die  4  obiit  hie  Fr.  Bonaventura  Hannii  Sacerdos. 

1675  Die  13  obiit  hie  F.  Joannes  Hannmore  Valo  [a 
Walloon  ?]  Laicus,  devotus  et  donicforisq.  [ue]  ex- 
emplaris,  et  valde  laboriosus  huic  Collegio. 

1706  Die  29  obiit  F.  Franciscus  Bougher1  Laicus,  nati- 
one  Bruxellensis  hortulanus  sedulus  et  pius. 

1697        Die  20  obiit  F.  Petrus  Marilleis  Laicus  hortulanq 

M- 

[This  last  entry  is  by  the  the  same  hand  and  written 
with  the  same  ink  as  that  noted  at  anno  1722.  W.  J.  D.] 

Anno 

1715  Die  15  Martii  pie  hie  obiit  ex  dierum  quatuor 
morboe  vehement!  V.  adm.  pr.  Fr.  FRANCISCUS 
TuLLY,2  S.  T.  L.  qui  fuit  in  Collegio  hor  presea 
et  subsequenter  Guardianus  vir  doctus  devotus  ac 
Zelosus. 

1  This  entry  evidently  corresponds  with  Bindon's  Franciicua  dt 
Boolcher,  the  first  name  he  deciphered  from  the  "  small  tiles  in  the  cor- 
ridors". 

»  This  is  the  third  name  deciphered  by  Biadon  as  Fran  Tally,  aee  IT. 
Coll,  Louvain,  p.  Izr. 

71 


562  INIS-OWEN  .AND  TIKCONNELL. 

[This  last  entry  has  been  made  by  a  hand  accustomed  to 
much  writing,  and  though  very  good  writing,  it  is  not  so 
distinct  as  previous  entries.     W.  J.   D.J 
Anno 

1716  Die  26  Martiiobiit  Fr.  Edmundus  Van  de  Velde 
Laicus  Scriniarius,  aet.  34,  prof.  12. 

"  Aprilis". 

1613  Die  24  obiit  hie  F.  NICALAUS  FJNN  Water- 
fordiensis,  Clericus,  prof,  [essor]. 

1658  Die  2  obiit  hie  P.  FKANCIS  SHEIL  Sac.  Praed, 
Conf.  iterate  Vicarius. 

1671  Obiit  hie  ex  vulneribus  acceptis  ab  ebriis  rusticis 
Foris  Fr.  Joannes  Addams  Laicus  Lovaniensia 
Scrinarius. 

1686  Die  8a  admodum  pie  et  exemplariter  hie  obiit 
Fr.  Bartholomaeg  [MS]  Geraldinus  Kildariensis, 
clericus  professus. 

1707  Hie  placide  obdormivit  V.  A.  P.  JOANNES 
MALONE,  S.  Theol.  Lector  Actualis. 

1714  Die  tertia  Aprilis  hie  pientissime  obiit  R.  A.  P. 
Frater  JOANNES  BAPTISTA  O'DoNELL  in  ordiue 
Jubilarius  in  Provincia  Missionarius  et  Guardi- 
anus  emeritus,  ExdeiF.  et  Exminister  Provinci- 
alis.  Vir  ab  adolesientia  suas  per  omnem  vitam 
apprim£  devotus,  modestus,  et  exemplaris. 

[This  last  entry  is  by  the  second  hand  noted  at  1715, 
but  in  this  entry  the  writing  is  more  distinct.  This  Father 
Baptista  O'Donnell,  is  the  same  as  that  on  the  second 
"  small  tile  in  the  corridor",  but  being  so  worn,  Bindon 


LODVAIN.  563 

was  unable  to  decipher  it  fully  in  1845.     It  is  now  wholly 
obliterated,  or  removed,  consequently  we  give  here  all  the 
notice  appearing  in  the  Obituary".     W.  J.  D.]  l 
Anno 

1731        Die  27  obiit  hie  Fr.  BERNARDTJS  DUFPII  Clericus 
Professus. 

"  Maiius". 

1654        Hie  pie  obiit  F.  Valentinus  Bodkin  Subdiaconq 

M- 

1658  Die    13    hie    pie    obiit    P.    Paulus    O'Molloii 
[O'Molloy]  Sacerdos. 

[We  regret  that  the  space  or  time  at  our  disposal,  will  not 
permit  us  to  give  a  full  and  extended  insertion  of  all  the 
transcript  of  this  venerable  and  historical  obituary  of  S.  A. 
de  Padua,  Leuvan.  But  any  names  belonging  to  Inis- 
Owen  and  Tirconnell  we  shall  produce  to  the  full  ex- 
tent given  in  the  Obituary. 

Possibly  there  exist  in  Ireland  other  transcripts  of  this 
celebrated  Obituary,  of  which  we  are  in  complete  igno- 
rance. W.  J.  D.] 

Anno 

1660         Paralisi  tactus  obdormivit  in  Dno.  P.  ANTONIUS 
CONMAEUS  \_Conway],  S.  T.  Lector  emeritus. 

1 659  Die  26  obiit  F.  Michael  Marcen  Laicus,  Hispanus. 
1700         Die  8  Exeinplariter  obiit  Fr.  Antonius  McCarthii 

Laicus,  natione  Hibernus  in  obsequiis  communita- 
tia  fidelis  et  [obsequorius  ?~J   laboriosus. 

1  See  Bindon  p.  IXY,  ami  ante  p.  5€. 


564  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Anno 

1699        Die  29  pie  obiit  F.  Alexander  van  Artoiis  Lo- 

vaniensis,  Laicus,  Arte  Sutor  Infirmarius  obse- 

quiosus  et  Sedulus. 
1705        Die  25    Pientissime   obiit  R.  P.  F.   ANTONIUS 

McCARTHii  S.  T.  L.  Jubilatus  aliquando  Collegii 

hujus    Guardianus    rigoris   clanstralis   vitae,    et 

Sanctae  simplicitatis  ad  mortem  usqe  tenacissi- 

mus. 
1708        Die  19  obiit  V.  A.  P.  ANTONIUS  MCDONNELL 

per  annos  multes  missionarius  pluries  Guardianus 

in  Hiberniae  etc. 
1717        Die  20  Maii  obiit  Fr.  THOMAS  DE  BURGO  hujus 

Collegii  Guardianus  actualis  aet  45,  professionis 

31,  lenta  tabe  exhansus. 

[This  entry  is  by  the  same  hand  as  previously  referd.  to 
W.  J.  D.J 

"Junks". 

Anno 

1636        Die  lla  hie  .pie   mortuus  est  K,  P.  ROBERTUS 

CHAMBERLINUS,    ante    Susceptum  habitum,  S. 

Theol.  Doctor  in  nostra  Religione  deinde  Lector 

Jubilatus. 
1617        Dii   12  obiit    Gravlingaj   [The  Hague?]    apud 

Clarissus   Cenglas  P.   F.  FRANCISCUS  PHAIIUS 

tune  in  hoc  Collegio  Philosophise  Lector. 
1689        Die  20  pie  obiit  R.  P.  BONAVENTURA  KEON, 

S.  T.  L.  Jub.  olim  hujus  Collegii  Guardianus. 

Vir  profunde  doctus  et  devotus. 


LOUVAIN.  565 

Anno 

1711        Die  7  obiit  hie  P.  ANTONIUS  ESSEE,  sacerdos  et 

organista,  sedelus,    aetatis   suae  30,   profesr.  il, 

sacerae  5. 

1714  Die  lima  Junii  Ex  acerbissimo  gangrenae  morbo, 
paucis  diebus  confectus  hie  pie  obiit  R.  P.  F. 
EUGENIUS  MoCAETHii  ab  emiss&  religioset  pro- 
fessime  et  in  Sacerdotio  Subliarius,  missionarius, 
et  Guardianus  emeritus,  et  nostrae  Provincise  ex- 
custos :  Vir  animi  candore  et  pacific^  conversa- 
tione  conspicuus,  &c. 

1730  Die  5  obiit  PETRUS  MORPHII,  S.  T.  L.  emeritus 
ac  hujus  Collegii  ex  Guardianus,  etc.  [This  is  the 
Petrus  Murphy  whose  name  was  engraven  on 
one  of  the  "  small  tiles"  mentioned  by  Bindon, 
p.  Lxv.  Date  is  recte.  W.  J.  D.  5th  June,  1730. 
p.  56,  ante.] 

"Julius". 

1661  Die  12  obiit  in  hoc  Collegia  V.  P.  JOSEPHUS 
O'CuRNiN,  insignis  divini  verbi  concionator. 

1661        Die  26  obiit  hie  V.  P.  EDMUNDUS  FLEMING. 

1665  Die  4  obiit  hie  Fr.  SIIMON  SAUBAIN,  Laicus 
Officio  Vir  valde  zelosus  et  exemplaris. 

1676  Die  2  obiit  hie  Rdus.  P.  EDMUNDUS  BRAYUS 
Jubilarius,  olim  Theol.  Lector  Gustos  Pro[vinc]se 
in  Hibernia  Guard [ianus]  &c. 

1686  Die  2  hie  obiit  P.  DANIEL  O'MoLLOii  Sacerdos, 
pro  tempore  subsacrista,  portarius,  etc  ac  obsequia 
comfmjunitatie  ubique  promptus  et  diligeas. 


566  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIECONNELL. 

Anno 

1687        Die    11«    obiit   hio   F.  PATBICIUS    OCoNNOE 
Laicus,  arte  Sartor. 
[Page  8  of  the  Obituary  is  blank.]    W.  J.  D. 

"  Augustus". 

1617  Die  Augustii  obiit  hie  ex  phthiisi  F.  MICHAEL 
CUSACK,  Medensis,  Clericus  professus. 

1636  Die  26  obiit  R.  P.  FBANCISCUS  MCDONNELL 
Illmmi.  Comitis  de  Antrim,  Guardianus  Emeritus 
in  Hibernia,  et  ex  definitor  hujus  vero  Collegii 
Guardianus  actualis. 

1654        Die  31  hie  obiit  F.  PETBUS  HEBTAELS  Laieus 

professus  coquus. 

1680  Die  29  V.  P.  F.  BONAVENTUBA  ODOCHABTII, 
vir(Religiosissimus,  et  qui  acta  SS.  sub  Primbus 
Colgano  et  Sirino  describebat  indefesse. 

[See  pp.  129-130  ante.'] 

1681  Die  19  obiit  hie  FE.  RUMOLDUS  WILLEMAEES 
Laicus  professus  Louvaniensi. 

1713  Die  17  Augusti  obiit  FB.  JACOBUS  LONGCHAMPS 
Laicus  Braseator,  victor,  etc.  domus  [?]  forisque 
exemplaris  ac  indefesse  laboriosa  aetat  46,  pro- 
fess, 22. 

{"This  entry  was  made  by  the  same  hand  already 
noted.    W.  J.  D.] 

1721  Die  6  Augusti  obiit  R.  P.  FBANCISCUS  O. 
O'DoNNOCHD  Sa.  Theol.  L.  Jub.  &c.  vir  pius 

doctus,  eobrius,  zelosus,  ut  valde  exemplaris. 


LOUVAIN.  567 

Anno 

"September". 

1626  Die  22  obiit  Romae  in  Collegio  S.  Isidori  ibidem 
eepultus  Illmus.  ac  Rmus.  Dnus.  Fr.  HUGO  CA- 
VELLUS  [Mac  Caghall]  hujus  Collegii  olim  plus 
semel  Guardianus,  Lector  Jubilatus,  deinde  totius 
ordinia  dcfinitor  generalis  ac  demum  Arch- 
iepiscopua  Ardmachanus  et  totius  Hibernias 
Primas,  qui  longo  tempore  graviter  desudavit 
circa  bene  formanda  initia  ac  progression  hujus 
habitaculi.  quoad  doctrinam  et  Religiosum  Dis- 
ciplinam:  propter  quae  singularem  Memoriam 
promeretux. 

1 62  5  Die  6  obiit  in  hoc  Collegio  Fa.  JOANNES  STUART 
Laicus  Scotus,  qui  pro  hoc  Collegio  diu  et 
fideliter  laboravit. 

1651  Die  28  hie  obiit  FR.  ANDREAS  COLLEBRANT 
Laicus  Professus  Sartor. 

1672  Die  27  obiit  in  hoc  Collegio  FR.  STEPHANUS 
Gerardi  Laicus.  natione  Valo  [Walloon]  Hortu- 
lanus,  et  vir  valde  laboriosus  et  fidelis. 

1953        Die   13  obiit  hie  F.  GULIELMUS  NUGENTIUS 

Laicus. 
1657        Die   13   obiit  hie   R.   P.   Fr.   DANIEL  CLERII 

PANIEL    O'CLERY]    S.  Theol.   Lect.   Collegii 

Guardianus  et  olim  Vicarius. 
1669        Die  25  obiit  hie  FR.  BONAVENTURA  EVERARD 

Clericus. 

1673  Die  7    obiit  hie  R.  A.  P.  F.   THOMAS  SIRINUS 
Sac.  Theol.  Lect.  Jub.  Vir  sanctae,  suavis  atq. 
exemplaris,  couversationes  limiti  calanii,  et  doc- 


568  INIS-OWEN  AND  T1RCOHNELL. 

Anno 

trmae  profundae  Cujus  tota  vita  precibus  vigilis 

abstinentia,  studiis,  etc.,  etc.  [The  many  other 
virtues  possessed  by  F.  Thos.  Sirinus  are  set 
forth,  as  also  the  part  he  took  in  writing  the 
Acta  Sanctorum  Hibernorum,  and  his  part  in 
editing  other  works,  the  whole  entry  in  the  obitu- 
ary under  his  name  finishes  thus.  W.  J.D.]  Ea 
Jesu.  Summe  Solicitus  videbatur  atq  adeo  anxius 
nequid  scriberet  quod  avero  aberraret.  Requies- 
cat  in  Sta.  Pace  vir  memoriae  duleissimae. 
[Amen.] 

1674  Die  6  F.  FRANCISOUS  PINCHART,  Laicus, 
Valo,  coquus,  Portarius,  etc. 

1693  Obiit  17  Sep.  Mechlina  [Malines]  ex  variolis, 
V.  P.  FRANCISOUS  LALOR,  S.  P.  C.  existens  ac- 
tuale  membrum  hujus  Collegii. 

1701  Die  13  obiit  in  Conventu  Duaceno  Prum.  An- 
glorum  ad  quos  aeris  mutandi  causa  divertit  R. 
P.  BERNARDINUS  GAVANUS  L.  Jub.  etc.  functus 
officio  comissarij  visitatoris  Proae  [Prague  ?]  et 
subsciquentes  Guardiani  hujus  Collegii. 

"  October." 

1635  Die  6ta  Peste  sublatus  est  Rdus  P.  F.  FfiANCiacus 
ARCHBOLD  Praed.  &  Conf. 

1665  Die  lla  F.  LAURENTIUS  BRENANUS. 

1666  Die  3a  F.  Edmundus  Kennedii,  Laicus. 

1678  Die  lo  Octobrii  obiit  F.  GULIELMUS  SMEDTS 
Braxator,  in  suo  cubiculo,  exhaustus  diuturnu 
quartana. 


fcOUVAIN.  569 

Anno 

1653  Die  iia  obiit  Hospes  P.  FsANCisccs  MAGBABHI, 

Sacerdos. 

1654  Die  ii*  obiit  hie  Ven.  P.   F.  BON[AVENTU]RA 
GLACHLIN  [MacLaughlin  ?]  Praed.  conf.   et  Vi- 
carius. 

1680  Obiit  Brugis  [Bruges]  V.  A.  P.  BERNARDINUS 
FORSTALL  die  5  Oct.  Actualis  Lect.  S.  Theol.  in 
hoc  Collegio  et  valde  studiosus  ac  zelosus. 

1693  Die  25  obiit  F.  Franciscus  Bottsom  Laicus  bonus 
Braxator :  Lovaniensis  natione. 

„  Die  29  obiit  P.  JOANNES  MC  TIERNAN  Sacerdos 
et  Confess. 

<{  November". 

1614        Die    2a   obiit    ex    variolis    F.    LAUKENTIUS 

WEASLTJ  novitius  clericus. 

„  Die  15a  obiitem  ex  variolis  contractis  ex  prafato 
FRATRE  R.  P.  BON[AVENTU]RA  HOSSAEUS 
[HussEY]  ?  hujus  Collegii  act,  Guardianus  mulla 
laude  dignissimus :  Tune  residentia  hujus  Col- 
legij  nostra  erat  propre  S.  Jacobi  Templum,  et 
ipse  Sepultus  est  in  altero  Conventu,  de  quo 
fuse  in  Magno  Registro. 

1635  1m  Novembri  ex  Peste  F.  FRANCISCUS  GREDDIJ 
[Graddy']?  Laicus. 

1635  Die  8va  obiit  ex  Hijdropisi  P.  HUGO  WARD- 
AEUS  S.  T.  Lect.  olim  Collegij  Guardianus.' 

1  See  pp.  64-67,  ante. 

72 


570  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIKCONNELL. 

Anno 

1629  Die  18a  obiit  matriti  Illmus.  ac  Emus.  Dnus. 
FRATER  FLORENTIUS  CONRIUS  [FLORENCE 
CONRY]  Olim  Proae.  Hiberniae  minor,  Proalis 
mox  Archiepiscopus  Tuamensis,  quo  Solici- 
tante  obtenta  est  fundatio  hujus  Collegij  a 
PHILIPPO  3  REGE  Catholico,  et  PAULO  5 
PONTIFF  Max.  Ejus  Ossa  hue  translata  sunt 
anno  1654  Die  mensis. 

The  monumental  stone  inserted  into  the  wall  on  the  left 
hand  side  of  the  church  at  Lou  vain,  and  over  which  the 
painting  was  removed  by  le  Frere,  to  enable  us  to  inspect 
and  read  the  inscription  is  to  Fr.  Conry,  which  is  set  out  in 
full  by  Bindon,  p.  Iviii.     See  p.  60  ante.    W.  J.  D], 
Anno 
1651        Die  25  obiit  R.  P.  F.  BON[AVENTU]RA.  MICLA- 

NUS  S.  T.  Lect  olim  Guardianus  Collegij. 
1661         Die   8a   obiit  F.  THOMAS  FLEMINGUS  clericus 

praeclari  ingenij  Juvenis. 

1700  Die  8a  obiit  V.  P.  F.  BERNARDINUS  WISSEN- 
DORF  Sac.  Praed.  et  Conf.  Sacrista  et  diu 
vicarius  Collegij  et  quandoq  Prases,  de  ipso 
Collegio  optime  meritus,  de  quo  fusius  in  Magno 
Registro. 

[The  part  in  italics  has  been  added  by  a  more  recent 
hand,  but  we  were  unable  to  discover  the  Magno  Registry 
beloning  to  S.  A.  de  Padua  Louvain,  in  the  "  Bibliotheque 
Roy  ale",  perhaps  some  other  pilgrim  in  search  of  historical 
relics  relating  to  Donegal  and  Ireland  in  exile,  may  be 
more  fortunate  in  their  search.  W.  J.  D.] 


LOU  VAIN.  '571 

Anno 

1716         Die     16    Novembris     pie    obiit     Fr.    PETRUS 

SULLIVANE  Sacerdos  aet.  26.  prof.  2,  Sacerdotij 
lo. 

[This  last    entry  ,is   by  the  same  hand  as  previously 
noted.     W.  J.  D]. 

"  December". 
Anno 

1636  Die  13  obiit  P.  EUGENIUS  TRIGHILL  hujus 
Collegij  saepe  Vicariuius,  ac  deoedem  optime 
meritus. 

1676        Die  24  obiit  F.  ANTONIUS  NIERLO  [Laicus,  by  a 

more  recent  hand],  natione  Flander  Arte  Victor 

1698        Die   7    obiit  F.    JOSEPHUS   BANCHER    Laicus 

Sartor. 

168U        Die  29  obiit  F.  PATRICIUS  HANLIJ  Diaconus. 
1685         Die  18  obiit  Dublinij  in  Hibernia  F.  JACOBUS 

MAGANN  hujus  Collegij  Guarduanis  Actualis. 
1693        Die  15  obiit  hie  Va  P.  ANTONIUS    0  DALY 
S.  T.  L.  emeritus  concionnator  per  Celebris  ac  in 
vhoez  use  oppime  vesatis.     [This  is  the  best  ren- 
dering  I   could   make    of   the   part   in   italics. 

W.  J.  D.] 
1706         Die  5 a  obiit  hie  P.  THOMAS  McHuGO,  Sacerdos 

per  plures  annos  Kector  chosi. 

1707  Die  9  obiit  hie  P.  F.  FRANCISCUS  DOIJEL, 
[DOYLE?]  S.  P.  C.  [Under  this  last  entry  is 
written  the  figures] 

1707 
1737 
1636 

101 


572  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

[This  is  the  last  entry  on  page  15  of  Ms.,  the  next  three 
folios  are  blank,  and  then  logins  the  obiits  of 
Benefactores.]  W.  J.  D. 

BENEFACTORES. 

"  Januarius." 
Anno 

1695  Die  27  Jan.  Pie  obiit  Damecella  ELESEBETH 
SMEDTS,  hujus  collegij  per  30  annos  mater 
spiritualis  et  Benefactrix  apud  nos  sepulta.1 

1704  Die  la  Jan.  obiit  in  hoc  collegio  Illmus.  ac  Rmus. 
Dominus  F.  DOMINICUS  DE  BURGO  ex  ordine 
S.  Dominici  Epus  Elph.  apud  nos  sepultus  jacet. 
et  quoad  potent  in  morte  benefecit.  De  quo 
feise  in  Magno  Registro. 

"  Februarius''. 
[This  page  is  blank.J     W.  J.  D. 

"Martius". 

1621  Die  31  obiit  Philip  3  Hispaniarum  Rex  Catholi- 
cus  hujus  Collegii  fundator  et  Dotator. 

1563  Die  11  a  Lovanij  mortuus  est  Dorninus  JOANNES 
LINTERMANS  qui  testamento  legavit  pro  hoc  Col- 
legio absq[ue],  onere  llorenos  mille  sexcentos  ex- 
quibes  syndices  recepit  florenos  Octicentos. 

"Aprilis". 
[This  page  is  blank].    W.  J.  D« 

1  See  p.  62  ante. 


LOUVAIN.  573 

Anno 

"Maijus". 

1669  Eeliquit  testamento  80  Patacones  Dominus  Bar- 
tholdus  Feijlingen. 

"Junms". 

1709  Die  obiit  Londini  2  Junij  in  festo  Ascensionis 
Dni  secundum  Stilum  veterem :  sed  secundum 
Stilum  Novum  die  33  Junij  (adeoq[ue]  festo 
Antonij)  Praenobilis  ac  Pientissimus  Dominus 
D.  JOANNES  GOLEM  AN  Eques.  qui  nobis  legavit 
Eleemoijnan  Annuam  notabilem  Ca  lege  ut 
oremus  pro  ipso  ejusqfue]  familia  tarn  quoad 
vivos  quam  quoad  defunctos,  de  quo  fuscus  in 
Magno  Registro. 

1652  Die  la  Junij  obiit  Distemij  E.  ac  Eruditiss  D. 
ENGELBERTUS  KINEPHOVIUS  S.  T.  Licent. 
et  venerabilis  sacerdos  qui  legavit  Collegio  suum 
bibliothecam  copiosam  satis  et  pulchram  sub 
parvo  onere  de  quo  in  Magno  Registro. 

1693-  Obiit  mense  Junii  Antuerpia  [Antwerp]  De- 
volissima  Doracella  Gertuidis  de  Hart  natione 
Holanda  quae  olim  temporae  magna  necessitatis 
nostrae  annis  1686  et  1687,  contulit  collegio 
Eleemosijnam  3000  Sacrorum,  et  Moriens  anno 
1093  aliam  eleemosijnani  mille  sacrorum.1 

"  Julius". 

[1608?]     Die  29  Julij  obiit  Eomae  Excellissmvs.  Dominua 
1  See  p.  62,  ante. 


574  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

Anno 

RODERICUS  0  DONNEL  comes  Tirconalliae  sepul- 
ttis  in  conventu  nostri  ordinis  Eomae.  Magnus 
fratrum  nostrorum  fantor  et  benefactor.  Com- 
mendantus  etiam  Oes.  ejusdem  familia  tarn  quoad 
vivos  quoad  Defunctos. 

"Augustus". 

1617  Die  16  Aug.  Bruxelles  extinctus  ["foully  mur- 
dered"]1 est  DOMINUS  BERNARDUS  O'NEIL, 
junior,  fllius  Excellmi  Dni  HUGONIS  Comitis  de 
Tirones  sepultus  est  in  nostra  Ecclesia:  com- 
mendatus  eadem  familia  tarn  quoad  vivos  quoad 
defunctos. 

1706  la  Augustus  obiit  JACOBUS  DE  EILDRE  famulus 
DOMINI  DE  BOSSUT,  qui  reliquit  huic  Collegio 
notabilem  eleemosijnam. 

"September". 

1608  Die  17  obiit  Romae  qui  at  in  conventu  nostrf 
Ord.  sepultus  est  Jllmus  D.  CAPHARRA  0  DONEL* 
fratres    Germanus  DOMINUS  RODERICI  de  quo 
mense  procedente. 

1609  Die   22    obiit   Romae    lllmus   Dominus   HUGO 
BARO  DE  DUNGANNON  filius  primogenitus  Ex- 
celmi  Dni.  HUGONIS  MAGNI  TIJRONIAE  COMITIS 
sepultus  in  conventu  nostri  ordinis.3 

1  See  Fate  and  Fortunes  of  Tyrone  and  Tyrconneil.  pp.  485-487. 

*  This  Caffer  O'Donel  died  aged  25,  he  was  Rose  O'Doherty's  first 
husband. 

*  Fut«  of  Eark  Tyrone  and  Tyrconnelf,  p.  273:  Dublin,  1870. 


LOUVAIN.  575 

Anno 

1632         Obiit  in  hoc  Collegio  (et  apud  nos  sepultus  est) 

D.  GERALDUS  GERALDINUS  filius  Illmi  Domini 
Baronis  de  Kierij :  tune  capitaneus  peditum  in 
Legione  Hibernicam,  commendo  eandem  fami- 
liam  tarn  quoad  vivos  quam  quoad  defunctos.1 

16t54  Die  6  obiit  Lovanij  DOMINA  MARIA  COIBBEL- 
GIERS  quae  fuit  per  annos  17  nostra  fidelis- 
sima  mater  spiritualis  et  in  testamento  Collegio 
legavit  Eleemosijnam  quingentorum  circiter  flor- 
enorum. 

1665  Die  17  Sept.  obiit  Philippus  4  REX  Catholicus 
Piantissimus  continuator  Eleemosijnes  nostrae 
fundationis. 

1701  Die  16  Pientissime  obiit  apud  S.  Germain  in 
Gallia  Serenissimus  Dominus  JACOBUS  2dus 
Magnae  Brittaniae  et  Hiberniae  Rex  vere  et 
Insigniter  orthodoxus. 


c 


"October".     [Blank].     W.  J.  D. 

"November". 

1671  In  No vemb ri  praeter,  alias  Eleemosij mas  factas 
huic  Collegio  eidem  contulit  300  florenos  DOMI- 
NUS AUGUSTINUS  VAN  TEILINGEN  Holandus 
sub  onore  ut  oretur  pro  ipso,  qui  an  et  quando 
mortuus  sit  nee  dum  an  divimus. 

1700  Die  1  Novr  Pientissima  obiit  Carolus  2dus  Rex 
Catholicus  fundationis  nostrae  continuator. 

'  See  Flight  of  Earls,  p.  487. 


576  INIS-OWEN    AND    TIRCONNELL. 

This  finishes  my  transcript  of  the  Necrology,  p.  13,  and 
following  10  fols.  to  end  are  blank,  two  leaves  have  been  cut 
out  of  the  volume  towards  the  end,  but  they  evidently  had 
not  been  written  upon.  Probably  they  have  been  cut  out 
by  some  authorized  person,  in  order  to  compare  the  paper 
with  other  volumes  known  to  have  been  written  by  the 
same  hand,  with  a  view  of  determining  the  name  of  the 
writer  of  this  Ms. 

R.    I.    P.       OR  -00  ATKUTIAlb.       tl  S.    1U  T>. 


REMARKABLE   IRISH   MANUSCRIPTS. 

In  the  Bibliotheque  Royale,  Bruxelles,  we  examined  an 
Irish  MSS.  that  certainly  belonged  to  the  Irish  College  of 
Louvain,  the  vol.  is  numbered  [5057-5059]  and  is  also  a 
thin  vol.,  8  inches  long  by  6i  in  width.  It  is  poorly 
bound  in  calf  and  paper,  and  on  the  cover,  written  on  the 
calf  binding,  is  the  following  :  "  Vide  contenta  in  1°  pe 
plura  alia  sequntur  quae  sunt  notata".  —  Also  "  De  tribus 
Ordinibus  Sanctorum  Hiberniae". 

That  this  Ms.  belonged  to  the  Irish  College  of  Louvain 
there  cannot  exist  any  doubt.  On  the  first  page  appears  an 
obiit  much  worn,  and  carefully  pasted  on  the  paper,  printed 
beginning,  "Fratrum  Minor  orum  strictis  ....  ad  3 
autornum  [L  .  .  .  ]onanij.  Die  11  ...  ij  1636.  Aetatis 
suae  63.  .'  .  .  .  obdormiuit  in  Domino  Venerandus 
Admodum  Fr.  ROBERTUS  CHAMBERLINUS,  Sacrae  Theol. 
L.  J.  qui  post  quam  ex  Doctore  Theo[log]o,  etc,  etc. 
On  back  of  first  page  is  pasted  the  clar  (or  index)  written 
in  Irish  characters.  The  paper  is  much  worn,  as  if  moth- 
eaten  :  "  Incipit  Catalogus  SS.  Hiberniae",  fol,  1.  Primus 
Ordo,  etc. 


REMARKABLE  IRISH  MANUSCRIPTS  577 

On  page  2  begin  in  very  neat  Irish  characters  "I.  H.  S." 
"  As  ami.  so  as  coir  tur[as  \  loclia  Deaircc  (Dangoir  tra  pur. 
gadoir  Patraicc)  do  denamh  amail  ordagit  eol,  na  purgaden 
arius,".  fThe  writing  of  this  piece  we  believe  to  be  in 
the  handwriting  of  one  of  the  O'CLERYS,  it  is  but  a 
short  piece  and  ends  on  back  of  page  2,  the  last  line  of 
which  is  "  dhol  tra  huair  e  fon  uiscce  sanait  dangair  tra  linn 
Pn.  Laus  Deo". 

On  the  back  of  page  4  is  written  in  Irish  characters — 
"  Eoghain  buidhe  me  an  firdorcha  mcRuadri  seanoir  maith 
arach  inn  feain. 

At  page  25  begins  a  poern  inscribed  "  EOGHAIN  MAC  AN 
BHAIKD  Cecinit "  with  a  marginal  note  in  Irish,  very  like 
COLGAN'S  writing,  having  reference  to  "  Domhnall  og  ua 
DomnuiW\l 

No.  22181,  a  Ms.  by  J.  L.  Bax,  we  regret  our  time 
would  not  permit  us  to  examine.  It  is  entitled  "  Hiberni 
promoti  doctores  proffessores  Univ.  Lovan,  Collegia  Hib. 
Lovain  et  Antwerp. 

Of  course  the  works  of  Neil  0  Glackin,  M.  D.  to  the 
King  of  France,  are  so  well  known  through  Ware's  works, 
that  we  do  not  think  it  even  necessary  to  name  them.2 

During  a  recent  visit  to  the  British  Museum,  we  made  an 
examination  of  two  most  interesting  Irish  MSS.  among 

O  o 

the  many  Irish  Manuscripts  preserved  in  the  great  library 
of  the  Museum.  Here  our  notice  shall  extend  only  to 
what  may  be  classed  under  our  title,  "  Inis-owen  and  Tir- 
connell". 

1  Bindon  refers  to  this  Ms.  at  p.  15  of  paper  to  R.  I.  Academy  24th 
May,  1847.  Proceed.,  vol.  3. 

-  See  Harris's  Ware,  p.  141,  Dublin,  1764!  Dr.  O'Glackin's  principal 
book,  Cursus  Medicus,  was  published  at  Banonia;,  1065. 

73 


578  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL, 

The  MS.  first  in  point  of  age  and  fineness  of  caligraphy 
is  endorsed  "  Evangelica  Quatuor  LTTT.  Hibern.  Scripta". 
Bibl.  Harl.,  No.  1,802. 

This  MS.  iin  the  Irish  language  and  characters  was 
written,  as  it  appears,  at  Armagh,  in  the  year  1138.  It 
contains  a  quatrain  by  Fothad,  the  Canonist,  of  Fahan- 
Mura,  beginning :  "  6ccn<\  incliucc  connate",1  which 
O'Curry  renders  "  Wisdom,  Intelligence,  Counsel",  and 
refers  to  "  the  Seven  Gifts  of  the  Holy  Ghost". 

There  appears  also  a  passage  in  this  MS.  at  p.  24-b,2  which 
O'Curry  translates  into  "  Maelissa  that  cut  the  first  line 
here".  May  not  this  have  been  Maelissa  O'Brolloghan, 
"  who  cut  [wrote]  the  first  line"  ?3 

It  would  appear  to  have  been  Toland  who  advised  Lord 
Oxford's  librarian  to  secure  this  ancient  Irish  Manuscript, 
on  account  of  its  age  and  great  rarity.  The  MS.  was 
mentioned  in  a  catalogue  which  had  been  prepared  for 
Mr.  Aymon  by  Toland.  On  the  flyleaf  of  the  MS., 
written  in  pencil,  is  the  following  note : — "  This  MSS.  was 
one  of  those  stolen  by  Aymon  from  the  Bibliotheque 
Royale  at  Paris.  F.  W".  F.  W.  may  be  "  F.  M".,  the 
initials  of  Sir  Frederic  Manning,  who  was  the  keeper  of 
the  MSS.  in  the  British  Museum  in  July,  1863.4 

GILLARIABACH  O'CLERY. 

The   second   Manuscript,  No.  5,280,  in  the   Harlcian 

,  Harhian  Ms.,  1802,  ?.  36,  or  fol.  3G. 

*  Ibid.,  p.  256. 

J  See  ante,  p.  38. 

«  See  also  Catalogue  Harl,  pp.  229-243. 


REMARKABLE    IRISH  MANUSCRIPTS  579 

Collection,  we  examined  more  minutely,  as  it  was  tran- 
scribed by  Gillariabac,  the  [Tancoloured,]  son  of  TuatKal, 
son  of  Teige,  O'Clery,  nicknamed  the  crooked,  as  it  appears 
in  Irish,  at  page  65  of  the  original  manuscript  now 
in  the  British  Museum.  The  only  account  we  could  find 
of  how  this  valuable  MS.  was  procured  for  the  British 
Museum  was  that  it  came  when  the  Harleian  Collection 
was  placed  therein.  This  MS.  is  very  neatly  written 
on  vellum,  and  is  well  preserved.  The  examination  we 
made  is  too  extensive  for  record  in  this  work.  The  MS. 
was  formerly  in  the  possession  of  Sir  Henry  Spelman, 
whose  autograph  appears  on  the  first  vellum  page.  By 
the  merest  accident  we  discovered  the  time  and  locality  of 
Sir  Henry  Spelman.  Having  been  at  King's  Lynn  in 
Norfolkshire,  we  became  possessed  through  the  kindness 
of  Mr.  Edward  Dow  of  that  place,  of  an  Historical  Sketch, 
of  "  our  Lady's  Hill,  Lynn",  by  Edward  Milligen  Beloe* 
In  this  instructive  brochure,  Mr.  Beloe  has  extracted  from 
the  Corporation  Records,  Book  No.  2,  p.  471,  an  interesting 
entry  in  which  the  name  of  Henry  Spylman  appears  in  the 
entry,  dated  25th  January,  A.D.,  1484.1  Sir  Henry  Spylman 
was  one  of  two  neighbouring  gentlemen  to  whom  the 

1  This  Henry  Spelman  of  1484,  is  an  earlier  Spelman  than  Sir  Henry 
Bpelman,  Knt.,  the  eminent  antiquary,  born  1562,  and  vrho  died  1641. 
He  was  High  Sheriff  of  Norfolkshire  in  1604,  and  knighted  by  James  1st 
in  1612.  His  work  Glossarium  Archapiologicum,  Lon.,  1687,  is  consider- 
ed "a  useful  and  learned  work".  Stow,  Narborow,  and  Ellingham,  would 
appear  to  have  been  the  placo  of  the  Spelmans,  as  in  the  Church  of 
Narboriensi,  the  Inscriptions  Sepulchrates,  appears  "  Oralt  pro  animabus 
Henrici  Spelman,  Legis  periti  ac  Recordatoris  Civitatis,  Norw.  etc., 
Obiit,  23rd  September,  1496. 
This  was  the  possessor  of  our  Irish  MSS.  E.  I.  P. 


580  INIS-OWEN    AND  TIRCONNELL. 

question  of  building  our  Lady's  chapel  on  the  Lady's  Hill 
was  referred  by  the  Corporation  of  Lynn-Regis  .(Kings 
Lynn.') 

This  MS.  is  worthy  of  a  close  inspection  by  Irish  scholars. 
I  found  written  in  the  MS.  in  Irish  characters  the  name 
of  MAOLMUIRE  O'CLERIG,  who  may  have  assisted  the 
author  in  the  preparation  of  the  Irish-English  index  prefixed 
to  the  Vellum  Manuscript  transcribed  by  the  Tancoloured 
O'Clery,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  the  original  was  at  one 
time  at  CluainMacnois,  onthe  Shannon  and  that  the  MS.,  was 
(taken  or)  given  to  "ye  Right  "Worshipfull,  Sir  Henry 
Spelman"  Knt.,  by  some  "  Lord  Deputy  of  Ireland".  My 
work  here  is  done,  by  showing  the  work  done  by  our  Tir- 
connellian  O'Clery  s.  Any  further  reference  we  may  make 
to  this  important  Irish  MS.  will  be  in  separate  treatment 
elsewhere. 


[THE   CATHACH]. 

In  addition  to  the  particulars  given2  we  append  here  a 
few  notes  made  after  personal  examination  of  "  The 
Cathach",  in  which  term  we  include  the  Casket  or  Shrine. 

About  one  inch  from  the  top  angle,  down  the  right  end 
of  the  shrine,  is  attached  a  flexible  chain,  four  inches  long 
by  half  an  inch  broad,  and  about  three-sixteenths  of  an 
inch  in  thickness,  formed  by  plaited  silver  wire,  with  an 
eye-hole  shaped  at  each  end,  through  which  a  silver  ring 
fastens  the  chain  to  a  silver  staple  let  into  the  marginal 
border  at  the  top,  by  which  the  chain  is  suspended.  At  the 
extreme  length  of  the  chain,  fastened  by  another  silver 

*  "  Hist  Sketch  by  E.  M.  Beloe,  Esq.,  p.  5,  Norwich,  1884. 

2  Ante.  pp.  291-304,  also  I  &  T.  (1st  series),  chap.  xxvi. 


THE    CATHACH,  581 

ring  is  a  miniature  Censer, — one  inch  in  diameter,  having 
at  each  end  half-inch  projections,  formed  into  circular 
ends  for  attachment.  This  Censer  is  formed  by  two  con- 
cave cups,  ingeniously  held  together  by  interior  fastening? 
that  enable  the  parts  of  the  Censer  to  partly  revolve- 
This  Censer  has  on  the  bottom  half-cup  some  letters  in 
Gothic  characters,  that  have  been  first  cut  out  of  a  thin 
silver  plate,  and  soldered  on  to  the  surface  of  the  censer  with 
silver  solder.  Four  small  holes  separate  every  two  or  three 
letters  as  they  appear  round  the  circumference  on 
the  convex  surface,  while  the  top  cup  has  four  similar 
holes,  but  no  letters,  thus  shewing  that  the  letters  were 
soldered  on  at  a  date  later  than  the  Censer  itself.  No 
decipherment  of  these  letters  is  given  in  any  accounts 
we  have  seen;  and  this,  our  attempted  decipherment, 
though  the  result  of  a  long  and  close  inspection,  can- 
not be  taken  as  complete.  But  it  may  aid  in  any  future 
investigation.1 

The  difficulties  of  decipherment  are  rendered  very  great 
owing  to  the  small  diameter  of  the  Censer,  and  more 
especially  because  the  letters  have  been  much  worn  and 
distorted  by  drops  of  solder.  However,  with  the  aid  of 
a  magnifying  glass,  and  the  assistance  of  a  distinguished 
learned  Professor,  we  have  been  able  to  make  this  read- 
ing of  the  partly  obliterated  Gothic  letters : — 

.aw.  <£$ES.  jflB.    cmi. 

:AN:        CRIS:         MD:          GUI: 
Anno:  Christi:   MDCVI. 

1  See  Betham's  Antig.  Researches,  p.  113. 
The  position  of  this  Censer  is  shown  at  pp.  292-298,  ante. 


582  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIRCONNELL. 

We  launch  this  rendering  of  a  hitherto  undeciphered 
inscription  with  all  the  uncertainty  expressed  by  a  cele- 
brated writer  and  poet,  when  about  to  expose  his  pro- 
ductions to  the  stormy  atmosphere  beyond  the  precincts 
of  his  study.  If  this  date  be  correct,  it  would  go  to  show 
that  the  CACAC  also  winged  its  flight  from  Rathmullen  in 
the  same  ship  that  carried  away  O'Neill,  O'Donnell,  and 
the  nobility  of  the  North  in  1607,  where  it  found  a 
resting  place  along  with  the  exiles  and  their  descendants 
— till  found  in  Belgium,  as  previously  described,  in  172-3. 

The  bottom  of  the  casket  is  of  brass,  to  which  is  at- 
tached a  plate  of  silver,  perforated  with  several  cruciform 
and  square  perforations,  uniform  in  style.  On  the  margins 
of  this  silver  plate  runs  the  inscription  in  Irish  characters.1 
We  observed  a  singular  coincidence  in  the  style  of  the 
brass  and  silver  ornamentation  of  the  Shrine  of  the  CAC<*C, 
partaking  of  the  design  used  on  the  silver  shrine  of  the 
Bell  of  St.  Conmll,  notably  in  the  form  of  some  of  the 
Wyverns.'  From  this  it  might  be  inferred  that  as  both 
the  Cathach  and  the  Bell  had  their  location  in  Tirconnell, 
they  had  been  treated  by  the  same  artist. 

The  Tabernaculum,  or  semi-circular  ornamented  piece 
of  silver  is  affixed  at  the  centre  of  top  edge  of  the  Cathach, 
having  the  letters  1.  ft.  S.  chased  on  the  outer  side  of  the 
small  plate  that  forms  the  closed  end,  or  bottom,  of  the 
Tabernaculum.  This  semi-circular  Tabcrnaculum  has  a 
length  across  the  edge  of  two  inches,  by  one  and  a-half 
inches  broad  at  base,  with  a  semi-circular  rise  of  three- 

1  See  p.  295  ante. 
3  Ante>  p.  353, 


THE     CATHACH  583 

fourths  of  an  inch.  As  the  thin  plating  of  one  of  the 
outer  panels  of  this  semi-circular  case  is  broken,  and  the 
case  itself,  is  at  present  in  part  unfastened  to  its  former 
exact  position  on  the  edge  of  the  shrine,  it  is  clear  it 
could  not  in  its  present  state  be  used  as  a  Tabernaculum, 
in  the  sense  we  now  understand  the  word.  But  then  it  may 
have  contained  a  relic  belonging  to  St.'  Columbkill,  and  we 
have  a  strong  belief  that  it  did,  till  the  time  the  Cathach 
was  opened  by  Betham.  If  any  such  relic  were  then 
there,  it  certainly  is  there  no  longer.  If  any.  relics  remain 
in  the  Shrine  (beside  the  manuscripts)  we  believe  they 
would  be  found,  under  the  circular  rock-crystal,  surround- 
ed by  a  setting  of  ten  gems,  placed  in  the  top  centre  of  the 
Cathach.  We  believe  that  under  this  crystal,  though 
loosened  from  its  original  firmness  a  relic  does  remain. 
For  this  reason,  and  the  increasing  age  of  the  Cathach) 
the  shrine  and  the  manuscript,  it  would  in  our  opinion 
conduce  to  their  better  preservation  intact,  if  they  were 
separately  kept  under  glass,  so  as  to  avoid  friction  in  open- 
ing. We  offer  this  suggestion  as  from  one  belonging  in 
blood  and  race  to  the  Clan-Conaill,  for  whom  the  CACAC 
has  an  hereditary  interest,  beyond  (if  possible)  the  interest 
we  hold  in  common  with  every  Irishman,  in  an  heirloom 
which  though  the  private  property  of  heirs  of  the  late  Sir 
Richard  O'Donel,  and  Sir  George  O'Donel,  Barts.,  is  re- 
tained, with  their  patriotic  consent,  in  the  safe  custody  of 
the  Eoyal  Irish  A  cademy,  as  an  IRISH  NATIONAL  MONU- 
MENT. The  oblong  compartments,  about  one  and  a-half 
inches  by  five-eighths,  surrounding  the  edges  of  the 
shrine  which  is  described  by  Betham,1  have  been  in- 
*Antiq.  Researches,  p.  115, 


584  INIS-OWEN  AND  TIEOONNELL. 

laid  with  thin  plating  of  pure  gold  laid  on  the  silver 
groundwork,  that  had  been  fashioned  in  Irish  interlaced 
and  other  floral  patterns.  The  interlaced  patterns  we 
consider  the  oldest.  On  the  top  edge  two  of  the  Irish 
scroll  patterns  inlaid  with  gold  work  are  still  intact. 
There  would  appear  to  have  been  three  of  the  double 
compartments  in  the  centre,  from  which  thin  gold  inter- 
laying has  been  either  worn,  lost,  or  abstracted.  A  double 
compartmental  division  at  each  end  of  the  top  edge  of 
the  shrine  has  the  gold  inlaying  perfect.  A  point  to  be 
observed  that  has  not  been  sufficiently  brought  out 
or  explained  by  Betham,  is  that  the  semicircular,  or 
demioctagonal  cylinder,  (divided  into  four  divisions  of 
three -fourths  by  a-half  inch  each,  chased  in  silver),  which 
Betham  calls  the  Tabernaculum,  was  a  compartment  that 
contained  some  venerated  relic,  deposited  there  for  safety. 
This  together  with  the  small  Censer  attached  on  the  outside 
of  the  shrine  by  a  silver  flexible  chain,  just  of  sufficient 
length  to  allow  the  Censer  to  be  used  as  a  thurifer,  to 
incense  the  front  of  the  shrine  to  the  extent  of  including 
the  Tabernaculum.  This  together  with  letters  1.  tl.  S.  on 
the  back  of  the  semicircular  plate  enclosing  the  demi- 
octagonal cylinder,  would  all  point  towards  this  being  a 
tangible  explanation  of  its  use. 

The  right  and  left  edges  of  the  original  shrine  are  de- 
corated in  the  central  compartments  with  exquisite  designs, 
all  purely  Irish  in  character,  and  executed  in  silver,  de- 
signed first,  and  afterwards  worked  in,  to  form  in  silver 
the  outlines  of  interlaced  serpents,  which  no  doubt  were 
afterwards  filled  in  solid  with  enamel,  or  inlaid  with  gold 
plating,  neither  of  which  now  exists.  The  bottom  edge  of 


THE     CATHACH.  585 

the  shrine  is  richly  decorated  with  a  number  of  compart- 
ments, each  containing  a  design  in  Irish    art  work,  the 
pattern  having   been  overlaid  with   a   film  of  gold  that 
adjusted  itself  to  all  the  outlines  of  the  interlaced  design, 
as  originally  prepared,  as  seen  on  the  silver  work  that 
underlay  the  gold  covering  in  the  compartments  where 
the  gold  has  been  either  lost  or  removed.     The  bottom 
edge  of  the  shrine  is  divided  into  fourteen  compartments. 
The  ten  central  divisions  had  the  scrollwork  designs 
overlaid  with  the  fine  gold  referred  to.     In  two  of  these 
compartments  the  gold  is  now  wanting,  and  in  two  more 
it   is  gone  in  part.      It  could   not   have  been   removed 
because  of  its  intrinsic  value,  which  is,  owing  to  its  thin- 
ness, but  little.     It  may  have  been  disturbed,  either  from 
curiosity  or  accident,  during  transit  from  place  to  place, 
or  from  the  eifects  of  frost  or  damp,  acting  under  the  gold 
inlaying.     The   top  edge   of  the  shrine  is  equally  divided 
into  fourteen  compartments,  of  which  three  double  com- 
partments in  the  centre,  and  over  which  the  semicircular 
cylinder,  now  partly  displaced,   must  have  rested.     The 
gold  in  these  six  compartments   (if  ever  there)  does   not 
exist,  whilst  in  two  compartments  on  each   side  of  the 
octagonal    cylinder,    the    gold   work    on    the    old    Irish 
scroll  work  exists,  whilst  in  the  two  other  compartments 
on  the  right  and  left  of  the  cylinder  appears  on  a  higher 
plane  a  second  covering  over  the  gold  inlaid  work  beneath. 
The  patterns  of  this  second   course   appear  to  be  more 
fixed  in  design,  but  they  also  are  covered  with  gold  in  the 
same  way  as  the  intertwined  designs  characteristic  of  Irish 
work.     The   right  and  left  ends  of  the  shrine  have  ex- 
tending over  three   and  a-quarter  inches,  by  one  and  a 

74 


586  INIS-OWEN    AND    TIRCONNELL. 

quarter  inch  of  the  central  space,  the  bold  and  unique 
outlines  of  two  serpents  which  cover  in  their  intertwining 
that  particular  space.  This  space  is  flanked  at  either 
end  by  double  compartments  inlaid  with  gold  work, 
similar  to  that  already  described. 

These  ends  of  the  CACAC  are  for  boldness  of  design 
and  skilful  treatment  as  a  work  of  art  in  Irish  metal  work 
of  the  twelfth  century,  so  rich  as  a  national  vindication  of 
our  advanced  position  in  civilization,  that,  apart  from  the 
interest  we  possess  in  the  Cathach,  as  a  descendant  from 
the  Clan  Conaill.  We  have  been  constrained  on  the 
broader  Irish  grounds  to  insert  here  our  own  observations 
of  this  remarkable  relic  of  the  O'Donnells  and  of  Celtic 
Ireland. 

At  the  right,  on  the  ancient  brass  front  of  the  Cathach, 
over  against  the  Censer,  swung  by  an  angel,  appears 
graven  the  figure  of  a  winged  monster  with  human  face, 
and  holding  in  one  of  its  claws  an  empty  skull.  Under- 
neath this  is  graven  the  figure  of  a  vested  priest,  tonsured, 
holding  in  the  right  hand  a  chalice,  and  the  left  hand 
placed  towards  the  breast.  Beneath  is  the  figure  repre- 
senting a  bishop  holding  a  crozier  in  his  left  hand,  having 
the  right  hand  raised  with  thumb  and  two  forefingers 
extended  as  if  bestowing  a  benediction,  whilst  a  dove  rests 
on  the  head  of  a  kneeling  figure. 

On  the  left,  over  where  a  similar  Censer  is  swung,  is 
another  winged  monster  with  human  face,  but  depicted  as 
if  having  only  one  eye.  Underneath  is  graven  a  winged 
quadruped,  the  two  front  claws,  or  feet,  arc  extended,  the 
right  back  member  appears  to  be  also  a.  claw,  whilst  the 
left  member  finishes  with  a  hoof.  On  the  brass,  over  the 


THE     CATHACH.  587 

silver  figure  of  the  Crucifixion  and  the  two  Marys,  are 
graven  two  vultures  standing  on  one  foot,  with  extended 
claws.  The  harpies  and  "wyverns"1  etc.,  would  com- 
plete the  remaining  embellishments.  The  metal  casket 
has  a  length  of  nine  and  five-eighth  inches,  by  seven  and 
three-eighth  inches  broad,  and  one  and  three-eighth  inches 
deep,  provided  with  hinged  connections  at  each  of  the 
angles.  These  were  for  the  purpose  of  permitting  the 
casket  to  be  opened,  in  order  to  remove  or  replace  the 
Cathaeh,  or  MS.  if  required. 

The  divisional  compartments  of  the  framework  are  each 
one  inch  in  length  by  half  an  inch  in  width.  The  patterns 
of  these  compartments,  over  which  the  gold  inlaying  is 
placed,  are  all  of  different  Celtic  designs,  generally 
formed  of  two-strand  interlaced  ribbon  tracery,  having 
ribbons  of  three  strands  in  one  instance. 

The  amount  of  work  required  to  form  the  outlines  of  the 
interlaced  serpents,  considering  the  pieces  of  silver  fixed 
to  form  the  interlacings,  were  only  one-eighth  of  an  inch 
wide,  and  about  one-sixteenth  of  an  inch  deep,  extended 
over  two  surfaces,  each  three  and  a-quarter  inches,  by  one 
and  three-eighths  of  an  inch,  and  embracing  within  that 
space  the  double  intertwinings  of  two  serpents,  hooked 
through  each  other  in  the  form  of  two  C's  reversed,  one 
head  up,  and  one  head  down.  From  this  some  idea  may 
be  formed  of  the  skill  and  patience  of  the  workmen  en- 
gaged in  producing  this  piece  of  Irish  Celtic  metal  work. 
The  main  outlines  of  the  entwined  serpents  are  two  inches 
overlapping  each  other  about  three-quarters  of  an  inch. 

Whether  the  Cathach  was  again  carried  to  the  Continent 

1  Ante,  p.  299. 


588  INIS-OWEN    AND    TIRCONNELL. 

after  the  departure  of  James  II.,  is  unknown,  yet  it  is  cer- 
tain that  the  silver  frame-band  placed  around  the  rim  of  the 
casket  in  1723,  by  Brigadier  Daniel  O'Donel,  has  greatly 
aided  in  its  preservation  up  to  the  present  time. 

The  style  of  the  arms,  caused  by  Colonel  O'Donel  to 
be  engraven  on  this  frame,  are  placed  on  that  part  of  the 
frame-band  that  covers  the  semicircular  projection,  or 
tabernaculum,  on  the  top  edge  of  the  casket. 

As  the  arms  differ  from  some  others  belonging  to  the 
O'Donnells,-we  describe  those  on  the  Cathach.  A  crown, 
or  tiara,  over  a  plain  circular  shield,  whereon  are  displayed 
a  mailed  forearm,  with  hand  grasping  the  staff  of  a  cross, 
having  a  cross  formed  at  each  of  its  three  terminals,  with 
the  legend 

IN  HOC   SIGNO  VINCES 

graven  on  a  scroll  beneath.  On  the  top  terminals,  formed 
by  the  chasing  around  the  shield,  on  the  silver  frame  are 
two  mailed  arms,  similar  to  those  graven  on  the  bottom 
covering  of  the  semicircular  plate,  but  less  distinct.  The 
engraving  at  the  base  represents  as  crest  two  mailed  fore- 
arms bowed  and  crossed,  the  right  holding  a  heart,  whilst 
the  left  grasps  firmly  a  battle-sword  of  the  Irish  pattern— 
which  we  presume  means  friendship  or  War;  choose! 
The  present  owner  of  the  Cathach  to  whom  we  have  com- 
municated our  intention  of  giving  this  description,  has 
graciously  favoured  us  with  the  following  particulars  : 

NEWPORT  HOUSE, 

NEWPORT,  Co.  MAYO 

Jam/.  22  [1895]. 

"  I  beg  to  say  I  am  the  present  owner  of  the  Cathach 


THE     CATHACH.  589 

which  I  inherited  from  my  uncle  Sir  George  O'Donel  [Bart], 
and  which  after  me,  will  go  to  my  son,  George  Thomas 
O'Donel.  We  have  lent  the  Book  [MS.  and  Casket],  to  the 
Royal  Irish  Academy  for  safe  keeping,  and  also  that  every- 
one who  may  be  interested  may  be  able  to  see  this  relic.  We 
are  very  proud  of  the  Cathach,  and,  any  book  referring  to 
the  subject  would  be  of  great  interest  to  us  all. 

MELICENT  AGNES  THOMAS  O'DONEL". 

In  addition  to  the  above  Madam  O'Donel  has  kindly 
furnished  us  with  "  a  paragraph  copied  out  of  the  account 
of  the  Relic  given  in  the  family  pedigree  made  out  by  Sir 
Win.  Betham,  Ulster  King  at  Arms".  From  this  paragraph 
it  is  stated  that  '.'in  1802  when  Sir  Capel  Molyneux  who 
married  Margaret  daughter  of  Sir  Neal  O'Donel  being  in 
France  at  the  time  heard  that  the  last  of  the  O'Donels  of 
France  had  willed  this  relic  to  the  O'Donels  of  Newport, 
made  enquiry  into  the  matter  and  having  ascertained  it  to 
be  a  fact  applied  for  it  on  behalf  of  Sir  Neal  O'Donel  and 
having  obtained  it  brought  it  with  him  to  Ireland  and  de. 
livered  it  safely  to  Sir  Neal  O'Donel  at  Newport".  We 
must  refer  our  readers  to  Betham's  Irish  Antiquarian  Re- 
searches* and  to  John  T.  Gilbert's  accounts  for  fuller  in- 
formation. 

The  descriptions  already  given  by  Betham  and  John  T. 
Gilbert  are  clearer  than  this,  and  to  these  we  ask  our  readers 
to  refer.2 

We  now  bid  good-bye  to  the  Cathach,  and  trust  that  it 

1  See  Appendix  Reports  Hist.  MSS.  Commission,  vol.  iv.,  pp.  584-588, 
by  J.  T.  Gilbert,  F.  S.  A.  London,  1874. 

2  P.p.  21,  109-121—211,  Dublin,  1826. 


590  INIS-OWEN     AND    TIRCONNELL. 

may  long  continue  in  the  ownership  of  The  O'Donnells, 
who  so  patriotically  have  it  preserved  in  the  Royal  Irish 
Academy,  without  its  being  in  danger  of  transmission  out 
of  Ireland,  and  where  it  shall  be  free  from  absorption  in 
the  all-devouring  craw  of  South  Kensington  Museum. 

ITEABHAR     LEACAN. 
REV.  JOHN  MCLAUGHLIN. 

By  a  printer's  error  we  are  made  to  say  that  Father 
McLaughlin  was  born  in  1785.  It  ought  to  have  been 
that  he  was  P.  P.  of  Ballinascreen  in  that  year.1 

When  correcting  the  above,  we  have  had  occasion  to 
read  our  original  notes,  in  which  we  find  the  following 
under  the  head : 

TRANSLATION    OF      "LEABHAR   LEACAN". 

In  O'Curry's  Catalogue  of  MS.  in  R.  1.  A.2  reference  is 
made  to  a  Manuscript  in  Quarto,3  classed  24 — K.  13,  which 
we  examined,  and  find  it  is  the  actual  translation  made  by 
our  Inis-Owen  REV.  PATRICK  MCLAUGHLIN.  The  title 
of  the  manuscripts,  written  in  a  hand  very  unlike  the  text. 

"  TRANSLATION  OF  THE  LEABHAR  LEACAN,  OR  LIBER 
LECANUS,  from  the  copy  of  the  original,  sent  me  by 
Father  O'Kelly,  chief  of  the  College  of  Lombards". 
This  notice  is  in  General  Vallancey's  handwriting,  and  see 
p.  761  of  this  Catalogue,  R.  I.  A".  This  last  note  is 
written  by  O'Curry.  The  following  memorandum,  written 

1  See  page  236,  ante. 

2  Harkins"  Inis-owen,  p.  109,  Deny,  1867. 

3  p.  18. 


THE  LEABHAKLEACAN.  591 

and  signed  by  O' Donovan,  on  a  fly-leaf  at  the  beginning  of 
the  MS.,  contains  the  only  authoritative  account  we  have 
been  able  so  far  to  obtain  of  the  name  of  the  Author  of  the 
translation. 

"  This  translation  of  the  Book  of  Lecan  was  made  in 
Paris  by  the  KEY.  PATRICK  MACLOUGHLIN  OF  INISH- 
OWEN,  who  was  patronized  by  several  distinguished  of- 
ficers of  the  Irish  Brigade".  "  McLoughlin  afterwards 
returned  to  Ireland,  and  was  Parish  Priest  in  Inisowen. 
He  was  offered  the  Irish  Professorship  in  the  College  of 
Maynooth,  but  would  not  accept  of  it". 

•"The  Rev.  Mr.  Kuro,  P.  P.  of  Inch  Magherdrool  and 
Killinchy,  Co.  Down,  who  was  living  full  of  years,  in  the 
Spring  of  1834,  was  intimately  acquainted  with  him  in 
Paris. 

J.    O'DONOVAN, 

Jan.  27th,  1835". 

Father  MacLoughlin's  catalogue,  descriptive  of  the  con- 
tents of  the  Book  of  Lecan,  is  more  of  a  translation  than 
a  descriptive  catalogue,  and  Vallancey  may  not  have  been 
so  far  astray  in  his  Memo,  after  all,  as  Father  Mac- 
Loughlin's MS.  may  be  the  translation  he  made  for 
Vallancey,  from  the  "Copy  sent  him  by  Father  O'Kelly, 
chief  of  the  College  of  Lombards.  Doctor  Thomas 
O'Gorman  was  authorized  by  the  COMMITTEE  OF  ANTI- 
QUARIANS,' on  the  5th  June,  1772,  to  apply  in  their 
name  to  the  College  of  Lombards  at  Paris,  and  other 
learned  bodies  he  may  have  an  opportunity  of  visiting,  for 
copies  of  such  MSS.  etc.,  as  may  tend  to  discover  and 
illustrate  the  history  and  antiquities  of  Ireland". 

1  Originating  with  some  members  of  the  "Royal  Dublin  Society". 


592  INIS-OWEN   AND     TIRCONNELL. 

It  was  Doctor  O'Gorman  who  had  informed  the  com- 
mittee "  that  he  had  recently  perused  the  Leabhar  Leacan, 
«...  in  the  library  of  the  Irish  College  at  Paris".  The 
instrument  of  authorization  given  by  the  Society  to  IJ)r. 
O'Gorman  was  engrossed  on  vellum,  and  as  it  breathes  of 
the  spirit  of  1782,  though  issued  on  28th  June,  1772,  we 
extract  a  few  passages.  "The  Society,  filled  with  the 
highest  respect  and  esteem  for  the  learned  College  of  the 
Lombards,  take  the  liberty  of  applying  to  them  by  Thomas 
O'Gorman,  Esq.,  requesting  their  assistance  and  concur- 
rance  in  an  enquiry  into  the  antiquities  of  the  Kingdom  of 
Ireland,  ....  and  particularly  for  permission -to  have  copy 
of  Liber  Lecanus  taken  ....  and  other  MSS.  in  posses- 
sion of  the  College  of  Lombards  as  relate  in  any  respect 
to  the  ancient  state  of  the  Kingdom  of  Ireland. 

As  a  result,  "The  learned  College  of  the  Lombards  put 
themselves  into  communication  with  the  "Dublin  Society", 
in  which  they  beg  to  congratulate  the  Society  on  the  new 
instance  of  public  spirit,  and  to  assure  them  how  honorable 
they  deem  it,  even  remotely  to  concur  in  so  national  an 

undertaking" "  It  is  with  the  greatest  pleasure  they 

reflect  on  the  appearance  Old  Ireland,  with  its  laws  and 
customs  shall  make,  when  exhibited  in  an  impartial  history, 

projected  and  patronized  by  the  men under 

whose  influence  modern  Ireland  makes  so  distinguished 

a  figure" "Therefore,  to  answer  the  views 

of  the  Dublin  Society,  the  superiors  resolved  to  pro- 
mote the  common  cause  to  the  utmost  of  their  power". 
For  this  purpose,  after  advertisement  duly  made,  .... 
they  had  an  assembly  of  all  Irish  gentlemen  residing  at 
Paris,  held  for  that  purpose  [of  forwarding  the  views  of 


THE  LEABHAE  LEACAX.  593 

the  Dublin  Society]  in  the  College  of  the  Lombards,  on 
llth  February,  1775".  "All  were  unanimous' in  applaud- 
ing the  patriotism  that  gave  birth  to  the  project,  and  ap- 
pointed a  select  committee  to  pursue  every  measure  that 
mi»ht  serve  to  forward  the  execution  thereof".  "  His 

O 

Grace  the  Archbishop  of  Narbonne  was  chosen  President". 
As  to  the  Leabhar  Leacan,  "  It  was  resolved  a  copy  of  it 
should  forthwith  be  taken  by  the  fittest  person  that  could 
be  found  here". 

This,  dated  Paris,  26th  March,  1773,  is  signed  by 
ARTHUR  RICHARD  DILLON, 

Archbishop  and  Primate  of  Narbonne. 

CH.   O'NEILL, 
Principall  of  the  College  of  Lombards. 

LAUR.  KELLY, 
Prefect   of  the  Irish    Community   of  the  College  of 

Lombards,  Secretary  to  the  Committee". 
A  reply  to  this  communication,  was  requested  to  be 
prepared  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  Leland.  It  was  brought  and  read 
before  the  Society  on  the  26th  May,  1773,  when  it 
was  resolved  "that  the  said  letter  do  stand  as  the  answer 
of  this  committee,  to  the  letter  of  the  College  of  Lom- 
bards", and  begins: — "The  truly  obliging  and  polite  atten- 
tion with  which  the  Superiors  of  the  College  of  Lombard 
have  received  the  application  lately  made  by  .the  Dublin 
Society,  justly  demands  their  sincerest  and  warmest  ac- 
knowledgements"   "  That  a  number  of  gentlemen 

in  Paris  of  worth,  character,  and  erudition  have  formed 
themselves  into  a  committee  with  the  generous  purpose  of 
co-operating  in  the  design  of  an  accurate  and  critical 
research  into  the  antient  state  of  Ireland,  is  a  circumstance 

75 


594  INIS-OWEN   AND    TIRCONNELL. 

equally  flattering  and  promising" Kor  can  they 

fail  to  be  impressed  with  a  due  sense  of  the  goodness  and 
condescension  of  the    most  Reverend  Prelate  who  hath 
consented  to  stand  at  the  head  of  this  committee.     They 
have  at  the  same  time  the  pleasure  of  being   convinced 
that  the  brilliancy  of  reputation  by  which  his  Grace  the 
Archbishop  of  Narbonne  is  distinguished,  not  in  France 
only,  but  in  other  kingdoms,  cannot  be  at  all  impaired  by 
that  attention  which  his  Grace  hath  so  obligingly  granted 
to  the  history  of  a  country,  in  which  his  ancestors  appeared 
in  characters  of  consequence  and  eminence".     "  It  reflects 
no  inconsiderable  honour  on  the  memory  of  some  of  those 
Ecclesiastics  to  whom  the  custody  of  the  University  of  Dub- 
lin [Trinity  CollegeJ  was  for  some  time  entrusted  in  a  season 
of  turbulence  and  public  commotions,  that  this  book  was  the 
only  article  of  value  lost  to  their  library.     By  remitting  a 
copy  of  this  celebrated  MS.  to  Ireland,  the  Superiors  of  the 
College  of  Lombards  will  approve  themselves  fully  pro- 
fessed of  their  liberality  of  sentiment  by  which  men  of 
learning  of  every  country  and  profession  are  prompted  to 
an  honorable  union  in  the  common  cause  of  Literature".1 
What  a  pity  for  Ireland  and  the  cause  of  Irish  Litera- 
ture that  the   sentiments  expressed  so  nobly  by  the  Rev. 
Dr.  Leland  have  not  been  put  into  practice  more  fully  in  Ire- 
land during  the  past  two  hundred  years.     We  regret  our 
time  and  space  will  not   allow    of  further   reference   to 
General   Vallancey's   Green   Book,    24  — E.  7,   R.   I.  A., 
which  is  a  manuscript,  having  printed  on  its  green  cover, 
in  gilt  letters, 

'  The  original  of  both  the  letter  of  the  College  of  Lombards,  and  the 
reply,  is  preserved  in  MS.  24  K.  I.  A.,  E  7. 


THE   LEABHAR  LEACAN.  595 

"DUBLIN  SOCIETY". 

[MINUTE    BOOK    OF    THE    COMMITTEE  OF 
ANTIQUARIANS.] 

O'Donovan  has  made  a  close  inspection  of  the  Transla- 
tion by  Rev.  Patrick  MacLoughlin,  as  in  several  places, 
his  writing  appears  in  the  form  of  notes  on  its  pages,  and 
over  portions  of  the  text.  In  any  case,  we  have  placed 
before  our  readers  the  outlines  of  information  illustrative 
of  the  work  done  for  Irish  history  and  antiquities  by  some 
of  our  Celtic  race  of  Inisowen  and  Tirconnell.  We  have 
been  led  into  this  digression,  so  as  to  give  a  place  to"  the 
work  done  by  Father  Patrick  McLoughlin.  Major 
Vallancey  says — "To  the  Earl  of  Rhoden,  he  is  obliged 
for  a  Collectanea  from  the  Liber  Lecanus,  once  the  pro- 
perty of  the  College  of  Dublin,  but  now,  in  the  library  of 
the  Irish  College  at  Paris".1 

LIBER     LEACAN. 

John  T.  Gilbert,  F.S.A.,  says :— "  The  Great  Book  of 
Lecan  was  compiled  in  early  part  of  the  15th  century  by 
Gilla  Isa  McFirbiss,  at  Lecan  Co.  Sligo  ....  and  was  in 
the  early  part  of  17th  century  in  the  hands  of  Primate 
James  Ussher,  with  whose  collection  it  passed  to  Trinity 
College,  Dublin.  It  was  subsequently  deposited  in  the 
Irish  College  [of  the  Lombards]  at  Paris,  by  the  heads  of 
which  it  was  presented  in  1787  to  the  Royal  Irish  Academy, 
Dublin,  in  whose  library  it  is  now  preserved".2 

1  Collectanea  de  Rebus  Hibernicis,  preface  vol.  1,  p.  viii  (second  edition), 
Dublin,  1786. 

2  National  MSS.  of  Ireland,  p.  122,  London,  1884. 


596  INIS-OWEN  AND    TIRCONNELL 

BACHULL  MURA.' 

"The  crozier  or  staff  of  St.  Mura  of  Fahan,  with  many 
other  reliquaries  was  left  in  the  hands  of  the  Saxons,  under 
John  Do  Couray  at  Dundalethglas  Downpatrick,  when  the 
Irish  under  Maelseachlinn  were  routed  after  their  attack  on 
the  fortress,  of  Dounpatrick".2 

Here  and  now  we  terminate  for  a  time,  these  labours 
carried  on  under  many  difficulties,  and  in  different 
countries.  We  leave  to  others  the  task  of  correcting  any 
errors  discoverable,  and  of  completing  (if  they  feel  dis- 
posed), a  work  hitherto  neglected ;  let  them  at  least 
remember  when  so  doing  that  the  author  of  these  pages 
had  no  purpose  to  serve  and  no  reward  to  hope,  other, 
than  that  of  reviving  the  memoirs  of  those  writers  of  Inis- 
Owen  and  Tirconnell  who  preceded  him,  and  of  endeavour- 
ing in  however  small  a  way,  to  uphold  the  motto  of  his  race. 
Aguf  *Oucc<yp. 
C  U 1  O  C  . 


1  Ante.  p.  402 

2  P.  xxxi,  appendix,  to  Introduction,  Martyrology  of  Donegal  by  0' Don- 
ovan, edited  by  James  Henthorn  Todd,  and  Rev.  Wm.  Reeves,  Dublin,  1864. 


597 

INDEX, 

Page. 

DEDICATION        5 

INTRODUCTION 12 

CHAPTER  I. 

GARTAN                 13 

Subheading — Lough  Beagk             ...            ...            ...  14 — 15 

Illustration  1ona  (as  secnjrom  Stajfa")          ...             ...  17 

CHAPTER  II. 

IONA         ...  17—19 

Subheading — Physical  Appearance               ...             ...  20 

„             Ruins         ...             ...             ...              ...  20 

,,              Destruction  of  the  Crosses        ...              ...  21 — 25 

„             Irish  Inscription        ...            ...             ...  25 — 29 

,,                  „             „           Authorities    ...             ...  29 — 30 

CHAPTER  III. 

THE  O'BROLCHAINS         ...  81 

Illustration  edtif-mop,  lona. 

Subheading—/  Colin  Kill               ...            ...            ...  30—35 

,,             Lux  in  Ttnelris         ...             ...             ...  3J — 87 

,,             Maiianus  Scolus        ...             ...             ...  37 — 38 

,,             Maelissa  O'BroIloghan             ...             ...  38 

„  Illustration  Bell  of  St.  Boedan 

„            Both-Cltonais             ...            ...            ...  39—40 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Sc.  A*AihnAn  :  ST.  EUNAN               40— U 

Subheading — Intellect  and  Religion              ...            ...  45 

,,             Education  under  difficulties      ...             ,..  46 — 48 

CHAPTER  V. 

COLGAN                  49—52 

Subheading — fferenaclts                 ...            ...            ..f  63 


598  INDEX. 

CHAPTER  VI. 

LOUVAIN               ...           53—56 

Subheading—  In  the  Ranks             ...            ...  ...  57—60 

,,             Florence  Conry           ...             ...  ...  60—61 

„             Means          ...             ...             ...  ...  61—63 

„             Father  Afooney            ...             ...  ...  63—64 

„             Father  Hugh  Ward  ( Vardeiis)  ...  64—67 

CHAPTER  VII. 

THE  CONTENTION  OF  THE  BARDS   67 

Subheading— Michael  O'Clery       ...            ...  ...  68—70 

CHAPTER  VIII. 

COLGAN  AT  LODVAIN    ...           ...  71 

Subheading — Colon's  Application                ,.,  ...  72 — 73 

„             Topographical  Difficulties         ...  ...  74 — 75 

„             Approbation                ...             ...  ...  75 — 76 

„             Fellow-workers           ...            ...  ...  76 — 73 

CHAPTER  IX. 

COLGAN'S  WORKS            78-80 

Subheading — The  Scourge  of  Cromwell        ...  ...  80 

„             Lost  Manuscripts       ...             ,,.  ...  81 — 82 

„             A  Study       ...            82—83 

„              Value            83—84 

„              Irish  Sentiment           ...             ...  ...  84—85 

„              Poverty         ...             ...             ...  ...  85—86 

„             Etymology    ...            ...            ...  ...  86— S8 

„              Church  and  Slate       ...            ...  ...  88-92 

„             Publication  of  Colgan's  Works  ...  92—94 

,,             Appeal        ...             ...             ...  ...  96 

„              Facsimile      ...             ...             ...  ...  97 

„             To  Colgan's  praise      ...             ...  ...  97—98 

„             Dedication   ...             ...             ...  ...  98 

llluttration—  The  Donagh  Cross     ...            ...  ...  101 

CHAPTER  X. 

DUNS  SCOTUS  102-106 


INDEX.  599 

CHAPTER  XL 

THOMAS  SHERIN               106 

Subheading — Colgaii's  Linguistic  abilities      ...             ...  108 

CHAPTER  XII. 

POLYHISTOR  (Rev.  Stephen  White,  S.J.)      109 

Subheading — Stephen  White  and  John  Colaan            ...  112 
Translation  of  Latin  Letter  from  S.  White  to  J.  Colgan, 

containing  subheadings.  112 

Subheading — Love  of  Country        ...            ...            ...  1 1* 

,,              Scottish  Thtory  Refuted            ...             ...  115 

.,             Scoto-Irish  Colony     ...             ...             ...  116 

,,             Archbishop  Ussher      ...             ...             «.  117 

„              Patrick  Comer  ford,  Bishop  ofLisnwe  ...  118 

Advice          ...             119 

„             St.  Columbanits           ...            ...             ...  120 

CHAPTER  XIII. 

SCOTI        121 

Subheading— Life  of  St.  Rombaud               ...            ...  124—126 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

QUATUOR  MAGISTRI  [Four  Masters]           126 

Subheading— Ad  Memoriam           ...  '          ...             ...  127 — 128 

„             Bonaventure  O'Doherty            ...             ...  129 

Illustration  t?Ac<vn-in«]U\  (The  Bosom  of  Fahan  from 

St.  Mura's^             .,.            ...             ...            ...  130 

CHAPTER  XV. 

CONVENT  OF  DONEGAL 131 

Subheading — An  Honoured  place   ...             ...             ...  133 

,,              Seventeenth  Century  ...             ...              ...  134—137 

.,              Hallowed  Memories    ...             ...             ...  136 — 137 

Rev.  Robert  McArthitr,  D.D.      ...             ...  289 

Donegal,    Gaelic   Stories,  collected  by  Mr. 
William  Larminie,  Mr.  Jtremiah  Curlin, 

and  Dr.  Douglas  Hydt          ...            ...  200  - 


GOO  INDEX, 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

COLGAN'S  CRITICS  

Subheading— Peter  Talbot              ...             ...  ...  138 

„  Bishop  William  Nicholson 

(Prolestattt  Bishop  ofDerry)    ...  ...  139 

,,              As  a  Critic  on  Colgan                ..,  ...  142 

.,              The  Long  Tower  Derryt           ...  ...  144 

„              Lenglel  Du  Fresnoy    ...             ...  ...  146 

„             As  a  Spy    ...            ..              ...  ...  147 

„             As  a  Writer              ...             ...  ...  147 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

JOHNTOLAND 149 

Subheading — Janus  Junius.     [Eoganesius\  ...  ...  151 

„             Joins  the  English  Party.             ...  ...  151 

,,             As  a  Political  Spy     ...             ...  ...  1J2 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 

CHARLES  MACKLIN(Ctfar/es  MacLaughliti).  ...  156 

Subheading — Machlin's  Dramatic  Works      ...  ...  1G3 

„              Counsellor  Jtlacklin  of  Buncrana  ...  165 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

MODERN  WRITERS. 

Subheading — Joaias  Aluckie            ...             ...  ...  1^5 

,,              Andrtw  Galbraith       ...             ...  ...  166 

,,              The  Dungannon  Conventions      ...  ...  167 

„  „  „  (Resolutions')  ...        168-173 

„              William  Preston         ...            ...  ...  174 

,,             Ft  amis  Preston           ...             ...  ...  175 

„               William  Campbell  Preston         ...  ...  175 

,,  Rev.  James  Porter,  Presbyterian  Minister 

(United  Irishman)  ...  ...         176—435 

,,             William  Davis  Gallagher         ...  ...  177 


INDEX.  601 

CHAPTER  XX. 

ISA  AC  BUTT          178 

Subheading — Literary  Work           ...  ...  ...  179 

„               Called  lo  the  Bur        ,,,  180 

,,               Ambition  to  be  an  Orator.  ...  ...  181 

„               In  the  Municipal  Council.  ...  ...  183 

„              (Butt  and  O'Conne/l)  ...  ...  184 

„               Change  of  Thought     ...  ...  ...  185 

„               T he  Irish  Land  Question  ...  ...  186 

1t             Amnesty        ...            ...  ...  ...  187 

„              Home  Rule    ...             ...  ...  ...  188 

„             The  National  Convention  (\Sth  Nuv.,  1873)  189 

„               University  Education  ...  ...         190 — 192 

„              Shadow         ...             ...  ...  ...  193 

CHAPTER  XXI. 

VARIOUS  WRITERS           194 

Subheading — Hugh  P.  Gallagher  ...  ...  194 

,,              Frances  Browne           ...  ...  ...  196 

Poem "  The  Last  Friends"    ...  ...  ...  197 

Subheading — WilKain  Quinn           ...  ...  ...  199 

,,              Sir  George  P.  Bowen  ...  ...  200 

„               WHliam  Elder,  LL.D.  203 

„              Bernard  O'Reilly        ...  ...  ...  203 

„              Rev.  Josias  L.  Porter,  D.D.  ...  ...  205 

„               William  AUingham     ...  ...  ...  206 

Poetical  extracts  A  Dream             ...  ...  ...  207 

„             ,,       The  Ruined  Chapel              ...  ...  208 

,,             ,,       Under  the  Grass                   ...  ...  209 

,,             ,,       Alibey  Asaroe        ...  ...  ...  209 

„           ,,      Adieu  to  Ballyshanny          ...  ...  210 

Subheading—  Robert  Patterson        ...  ...  ...  211 

„  Stephen  Joseph  McGroarty 

,,             Rev.  Patrick  Doheity                  ...  ...  213 

„              The  Most  Rtv.  Dr.  Keane        ...  ...  214 

.,              Hugh  AUingham           ...             ...  ...  215 

„              Bernard  Kelly,  M.P.                 216 

„              Henry  Chichester  Hart              ...  ...  217 


602  INDEX. 

CHAPTER  XXII. 

THE  MOST  REV.  JAMES  O'GALLAGHER 

Subheading— Dt.  Magonigle,  Bishop  of  Raphoe  ...  223 

.,             Dr.  Me  Devilt             ...             ...  ...  224 

„            Rev.  John  M'Devitt,  D.D.        ...  ...  225 

„              Primate  Dr.  MacEttigan          ...  ...  22*; 

,,             Dr.  Edward  Maginn,  Bishop  of  Derry  ...  235 

,,             Denis  O'Donnell          .„            ...  ...  233 

„             Rev.  John  McLaughlin              ...  ...  236 

,,  Dr.  Crerand  and  Francis  Gallagher 

(Educationists)        ...            ...  ...  236 

„              Jiishop  Rogers            ...             ...  ...  237 

„              Thomas  Doherty          ...             ...  ...  239 

„             Rev.  Francis  Makemie               ...  ...  23? 

„             P.  S.  Cassidy              ...            ...  ...  237 

„              Gweedore  (Lord  Geo.  Hill)       ...  ...  241 

„             Patrick  McKye  (or  McCoy)     ...  ...  241 

„              Rose  Kavannagh        ...             ...  ...  245 

„             Peter  McLoughlin      ...             ...  ...  246 

„             Rev.  John  Boyce,  D.D.             ...  ...  247 

„             Rev.  James  C.  Cannon               ...  ...  249 

„             P.  O'C.  MacLaugMin                ...  ...  250 

CHAPTER  XXIII. 

DONEGAL               251 

Subheading — In  Song  and  Story     ...            ...  ...  251 

,,            Innis~0wen,  Poem  by  Sir  C.  G.  Duffy,     ...  252 

„            Denis  Holland              ...             ...  ...  254 

„            Lady  Morgan  (Sidney  Owensori)  ...  255 

„             Rev.  Charles  P.  Meehan             ...  ...  255 

„            John  Mitchell               255 

„             Thomas  Macftevin       ...             ...  ...  255 

,,            Margaret  T.  Doherty  (Mrs.  Fender}  ...  256 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

THE  O'DONNELLS  IN  LITERATURE         257 

Subheading— Minus    O'Donnell   (Chieftain  and  His- 
torian)     ...            ...            ...  ...  258 


INDEX.  603 

CHAPTER  xxiv  (continued). 

— Brother  Bonaventurt  O'Donnell  ...  258 

Aot>h  (Hugh}  O'Donnell           ...  ...  25S 

Doctor  William  O'Donnell         —  ...  239 

Song— tloipn  t)ubh  (Little  Black  Rose)  259 

Poem—  The  Roman  Vision          ...  ...  2GO 

Dirge— 0  Woman  of  the  piercing  wail  ...  2GO 

Edward  Walsh            262 

Aubrey  De  Vere           263 

Modern  Author*            ...             ...  ...  264 

John  O'Donnell             264 

Hugh  Joseph  O'Donnell              ...  ...  264' 

Matthew  O'Donnell  and  Francis  Brady...  264 

Rev.  E.  O'Donnell        ...             ...  ...  26t 

Lady  Mary  Stuart  O'Donnell     ...  ...  265 

Roderick  O'Donnell      ...             ...  ...  265 

General  Enriqut  O'Donnell         ...  ...  265 

The  Duke  of  Teluan  (Leopoldo  O'Donne/l)  2G5 

Lucy  O'Donnell            ...            ...  ...  26C 

Stephen  O'Donnell       ...             ...  .  ...  266 

Frank  O'Donnell          ...             ...  ...  2G6 

Francis  Hugh  O'Donnell             ...  ...  266 

Charles  James  O'Donntll            ...  ...  266 

The  Capture  of  Red  Hugh  O'Donnell  ...  266 

Jane  O'Donnell            ...             ...  ...  267 

John  Francis  O'Donnell              ...  ...  267 

0' Donovan  and  0' Curry             ...  ...  267 

Edward  O'Donnell  M'Devilt      ...  ...  276 

George  Sigerson,  F.R.U.L          ...  ...  272 

Michael  Har kin            ...             ...  ...  274 

Verse  on  Pool-an- ess                   ...  ...  274 

Clonmany,by McLaughlin     ...  ...  375 

Varioui  Writers.     Char  let  Elliott  ...  i70 

John  Hood    ...            ...            ...  ...  574 

Francis  Allison,  D.D.                 ...  ...  276 

T.  C.  MacGinley          ...             ...  ...  276 

Henry  Doherty              ...            ...  ...  277 

Robert  A.  Wilson  ( Barney  Maghne)  ...  278 

Rev.  Peter  Kelly           ...            ...  ...  281 


604  INDEX. 

CHAPTER  xxtv.  (continutd) 

SUBHEADING—  Rev.  Edward  Maguire            ...            ...  281 

„             Reo.  Ed-oard  Brady     ...             ...             ...  28 1 

„            Rev.  Thomas  Lucas  Scott            ...             ...  281 

„            Michael  Scanlan           ...             ...             ...  281 

„            John  McCullougk          .,.              ...             ...  282 

„            Hugh  O'Hagax             282 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

OTHER  WRITERS  IN  GAELIC        

„             Giolla  Bride  Mac  Conway         ...             ...  283 

„            Owen  Roe  Mac  an  Ward            ...             ...  287 

„            Manus  O'Donnell         ...             ,..             ...  383 

„            Ftarghal  Og  Mac  an  Ward       ...             ...  286 

„            Maolmuire  Mac  Conula  Me  an  Ward      ...  284 
,            Extract  from  J.  C.  Mangan's  translation  of 

Mac-an-  Ward's  poem  on  Dontgal  Castle  283 

„            1omAj\bA'6;  or  The  Contention  of  the  Bards  285 

„            Lewey  O'Clery              287 

CHAPTER  XXVI. 

THECATHACII 291-301 

Subheading — St.  Golan  kille's  Penance          ...             ...  294 

„            Contents  (of  the  Cathach)            ...             ...  29G 

„  Tht  Shrine  (Description)  ...  ...        297—302 

„  Taken  to  the  Continent.    Found  in  Belgium        301—302 

CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ITMOSACh  (The  Miosach)  (an  Inis-Owtn  relic]  ...  ...        304—315 

Subheading—  Mentioned  in  Inquisition  of  1609              ...  307 

Found  at  Fahan,  now  at  Ratfifarnham       ...  310 

,,            Description  by  Betham                  ...             ...  311 

„            The  0' Morrisons  of  Clonmany —               ...  315 

The  Custodians  of  the  Miosagh  ...            ...  314 


INDEX.  605 
CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

ECCLESIASTICAL  BELLS  315—20 

Subheading—  The  Development  (of  Church  Beltt)       ...          320—26 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

DONEGAL  BELLS               326 

Subheading—  The  Tory  Bell           ...            ...            ...  327 

„             The  Gartan  Bell           ...            ...            ...  328 

„            The  Bell  of  Saint  Ernan  of  Drumholm     ...  329 

„            The  Aileach  Bell          ...            ...             ...  339 

„            Ctoga  cViot«itric!iitle               ...             ...  333 

„  The  Donagh  Btll,  Cluis-CcAH-nA-clwig  337—341 

„  The  Sancta  Paria  Bell,  Donagh  ...         341—344 

The  Barnan  Conall ;  or  the  Gapped  Bell  of 

St.  Cornell  of  Inis-  Caoil       ...  ...         344—359 

Illustrated  and  Described 

St.  Boedctn's  Bell         ...             ...            ...  SCO 

The  Bell  of  St.  Finian  of  Moville             ...  862 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

MISCELLANY        

Subheading—  The  Most  Rev.  John  Keys  O'Dokerty     ...  863 

Poem  by  Dr.  O'Doherty  (The  Hurricane)     ...             ...  365 

Subheading — MS.  copy,  Annals  of  the  Four  Hasten  ...  366 

„               Codex  Dor ensit           ...             ...             ...  866 

„               Codex  Foylensii          ...             ...             ...      ,  869 

„              Ancient  Silver  Chalice              ...            ...  370 

„              Cardinal  Logue          ...             ...            ...  371 

„              Tht  Most  Rev.  Patrick  O'Donntll          ...  373 

„              Rtv.  Stopford  A.  Brooke         ...            ...  373 

„              John  Pitt  Kennedy  (Colonel)    ...             ...  374 

„              A  Reminiscence  o/1848            ...             ...  375 

„               Plan  of  Defence          ...             ...             ...  876 

„               Conditional  Loyalty    ...             ...             ...  377 

„              Indian  Career  (of  Colonel  Kennedy)      ...  878 

„             Lady  Rota  O'Dohtrty               ...            ...  379 


INDEX. 

CHA.TTEU    XXX    (fOlttitHlfcT). 

SUBHEADING — Historical  Fragmtnt  by  Rev.  John  Colgan  380 

„  Letter  in  ike.  Irish  language  from  the  wifi 

of    Owen    Rot    O'Ntill  (Lady  UOSA 
tlA't)OChAHCA15ll          ...  ...  382 

„  English  translation  of  Lady  O'Doherty's 

Itller       ...  ...  ...  ...  3-3 

,,  English  translation  of  Latin  inscription  on 

Lady  O'Dohtrlys  Tomb      ...  ...  385 

„  English  translation  of  letter  in  Irish  from 

O'Doherly  to  O'Galaughtr  ...  ...  384 

„  Cahir  O'Doherty's  letter  to  0' Gallagher  ...  885 

„  Toem:  by  T.  D.  M'Gee  on    O'Doherty's 

Message  ...  ...  ...  ...  38.5 

,,  Poem  on   Cahir  O'Doherly,  by  Miss  Mary 

Eva  Kelly  (Mrs.  Kevin  Izod  O'Doherty)  38<J 

„  A  Legend  of  Donegal  (The  Invisible  Sea- 

Castle)    ...  ...  ...  ...  F89 

„  Very  Rev.  Monsignor  Stephens  ...  33J 

„  Donegal  Castle  (a  poem  by  Jeremiah  Boyce)  395 

,,  Fceni:  "The   Valley  of  Fahan",  ly  Rev. 

John  Graham        ...  ...  ...  396 

,,  Poem:  Farewell  Donegal         ...  ...  8tl 

„  Ghngollan,  Poem  by  Rev.  13.  AlcEldowney  407 

„  The  Bachull  Mura     ...  ...  ...  402 

„  Donegal  Poets  —  Chiefly  writers  oj  Gaelic 

poems        ...  ...  ...  ...  403— J  6 

,,  Maolmuire  Mac-an-  Ward's  poem  on  cap- 

tivity of    Hugh  Roe    O'Donnell,    with 
translation  in  part,  by  Douglas  Hyde, 

LL.D 41G— 422 

„  The  Cross  of  Cooley  ID  A5-bl  te  (,Moville)  422 

„  Carrowmore-cross  (ceACAItimoa-cnoise) 

bOU-COnA1S          ...  ...  ...  424 

„  The  Cross  of  St,  Buadon  (ctOtICA)      ...  428 

„  An  Ancient  Monumental  Grave  Stone  ...  430 

„  Rendering  of  Irbh  inscription  thereon,  by 

Dr.  George  Sigerson,  F.B.U.I.  ...  433-4 


INDEX.  607 
CHAPTER  xxx  (continued) 

SUBHEADING—  Thomas  Ainge  Devyr  (Diver)  ...  433 

„  ]{ev.  James  Porter  (Presbyterian  Minister)  176 

„  "  Fast  Sermon",  Preached  by  ROT.  James 

Porter      ...  ...  ...  ...         450— 

„  Shane  O'Doherty  tlTAC  -AH  V<MHH5e  (Son 

of  the  Sea)  ...  ...  ...  443 

„  Friar  O'Doherty  of  CAtWlsbHAlsVie  441 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

THE  BOSOM  OF  FAIIAN 

Subheading  —  Sfaelmura  of  Fahan  ...             ...  ...  446 

„               Reliy  Mura                  ...             ...  ...  449 

„               Colgan's  Declining  Years          ...  ...  4;  3 

„              Colgan's  Tractatus  de  Vita       ...  ...  4C2—  4C9 

„              Inhhotcen     ............  469-473 

CHAPTER  XXXII. 

O'DOHERTY'S    REVOLT. 

Subheading  —  Cahir  O'Doherty  —  His  Defamers  Kefuttd  475 

„              Seaan  O'Doherty        ...             ...  ...  477—484 

„              Sixtetntk  Century,  last  quarter  ...  484  -486 

„              O'Dohertt/'s  Revolt      ...             ...  ...  486 

„              Davis  at   Work           ...             ...  ...  488 

„               Culmore  and  Derry     ...            ...  ...  490 

,,              Davis,  Pawlett,  aud  Montgomery  ...  493 

„             Davis           ...            ...            ...  ...  497—503 

„              Baron  Docwra  of  Culmore.       ...  ...  503 

,,              Docwra's  Narration    ...            ...  ...  604 

„               Docwra  and  Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty          ...  505  —  511 

„              Cruach-an-eun             ...            ...  ...  512  —  532 

„              Seaan  Oge  O'Doherty                ...  ...  532—534 

„              Paivlett         ...             ...             ...  ...  535 

,,              Attempt  to  Surprise  a  Lady       ...  ...  635—537 

„              O'Doherly's  Letter  to  Pawktt  ...  537 


608  INDEX. 

xxxir.  (continued). 


SCBHEADIHG—  Insolence    ...            ...  ...  ..  538—539 

„              Culmore  and  Derry     ...  ...  ...  540—54  1 

„               Captain  Bart's  Report  ...  .  541  —  542 

„              Lieutenant  Baker's  Report  ...  ...  543  —  54G 

„              Margaret  O'Doherty  ...  ...  547—550 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

ADDITIONAL. 
Subheading  — 

„              Louvain        ...             ...  ...  ...  551  —  55C 

„               An  Historic  Manuscript  ...  ...  556  —  576 

„               Btmarkable  Irish  Manuscripts  ...  ...  576  —  578 

„              Gillariabach  O'Clery  ...  ...  578—580 

„              The  Cathath               ...  ...  ...  580—590 

,,              Thf.  Leahbar  Lca~an  ...  ...  590—596 


609 


CORRIGENDA. 

Page   7,   247,   for   Ordinance  read    Ordnance. 
„  8,   „    J.  F.  Gilbert  read  J.  T.  Gilbert 

„  5C,  „    5th  January,  1730,  read  5lh  June,  1730. 

„  57,   „    A.D.,  1670,  read  A.D.,  1GGO. 

„  153,   „    Published  in  1615,  read  (London,  1G95.) 

194,   „    XIX,  read  XXL 
„  236,   „     Rev.  John  McLaughin,  see  additional  infra  pp. 

590—591. 

,,  374,  omit  n  and  add  d  in  Adress.    (5th  line  from  top.) 

,,  380,  for  Note  2,  read  "Rose  O'Doliertv  preceded  the 

Death  of  Colgan". 
„  528,   „     land  read  Itland. 


FINIS 


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